Slither
by JamieTyler
Summary: Just when you thought it was safe, the nightmare comes back. rating will most likely change. as always, Jess centric but everyone's there.
1. The Old Nightmare

Slither

The Old Nightmare.

_"Have you ever seen true evil, huh kid?" the voice hissed into Jesse's ear. _

_Jesse squirmed in his assailant's grip, struggling weakly to gain his freedom as if it was a fleeting thought. The smaller man was pinned against the cool, rough floor of the condemned wear house where he had been drag. His arms were painfully constricted behind him, bound with tape, and an oily rag had been shoved into his mouth as a gag. There was a deep bite mark at the base of his neck that resembled a snake's bite and, in fact, it still had drops of venom seeping from it. That Venom did more to imprison Jesse then the ropes or the body that pressed into him. One simple bite had paralyzed his nerves, making moving nearly impossible and using his powers dangerous. It could have been worse though…so much worse. _

_Worse was having a hand spring from the shadows and grab a hold of you before you knew it was there. Worse was having snake like fangs tare into your throat and rip your jugular out. Worse was taking several gargling breaths as your life was pumped out and air was unable to relieve starving lungs. Worse were your last moments on earth watching your friend fall to your killer. Worse was lying in a cooling pool of your own blood by the wear house's entrance. Worse was what has happened to Kelly. _

_Panic ran through Jess as the scene replayed in slow motion in his head and guilt played at his emotions. Kelly had trusted him, had believed in his ability to protect her. Kelly had been brave enough to meet with Jesse, to tell him what the streets knew. And he had failed her. _

_A hiss sound reached Jesse's ear that might have been a chuckle if it had been human. "I don't like girls…only boys…no girl gets to watch me play…" the voice hissed into Jesse's ear, as if he had read his mind. _

_The voice paused in its' taunts to tease Jesse with quick nips to his neck and ears. Its' hand slipped up his thigh to the fly of his pants, unzipping it slowly so he could slid his hand into the opening. Its' other hand took up position in Jesse's hair, making sure to take control of Jesse's head. _

_Again Jesse tried to squirmed, but again it was impossible with the weight on his back and the toxin in his blood. Worse was his inability to think. The combination of teeth, tongue, and touch was wreaking havoc on his senses, dragging him closer to oblivious pleasure. Reluctant pleasure, but pleasure all the same. _

_His body had always been that way, hyper sensitive. It was because of his mutation and had something to do with the way phasing affected his nerves. Adam had explained it once when Jesse was younger, but what did it matter now? What did matter was that with each touch his body was getting closer and closer to the edge and soon Jesse would be beyond thinking and completely helpless. _

_"What's the matter kid? The voice hissed, lips pressed to Jesse's ear. "Never been kissed?" _

_Jesse inhaled sharply as he felt the hand on his crotch tighten and jerk. His body was quickly betraying him and Jesse felt his control slipping away. His mind was screaming louder and louder to move, to fight, to resist... But another squeeze all but silenced the screaming and Jesse felt himself start to come. _

_The next few hours were a blur. He vaguely remembered his pants being slid down and his shirt being torn. He remembered pain shooting through his hips and lower back and feeling It's motion as he moved in and out. He remembered when It stopped and his pants being pulled on and being turned over. He remembered a hand reaching for him through the shadows and taking a firm hold on his neck. He remembered the air being forced from his throat and the shadows engulfing him, taking him away into nothing… _

"Jesse!" Shalimar called yet again, this time shaking her brother. The blond startled from his thoughts and jumped away from his sister's touch. For a moment his blue eyes darted franticly around unable to focus on anything until Shalimar's voice broke through the daze.

"Hey take it easy Jess, you're alright, it's just me…" Shalimar soothed as she slowly approached the younger man and took hold of his arms.

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief and leaned into Shalimar's hold for a moment of reassurance. "Jesus Shal, give a guy a little warning next time…" he sighed.

Shal snorted and pushed him back playfully, "I did, seven in fact, you were day dreaming or something…so what you working on?" She asked as she turned to examine the computer that Jesse was working on. On the monitor were articles of various slayings that dated back a four years. Each of the victims were males and each were strangled to death after being assaulted in someway. They were all found in an abandon building close to a forest line or over grown filed and each only had one sign of struggle, a bite mark to the back of the neck.

Shal glanced up at Jesse who had reclaimed his chair and was now sitting blank faced, watching her. The expression on her face confirmed everything Jesse had been feeling since he found the first few articles last week.

"He's back."

* * *

OOOOOOOHHHH new stroy!!!!!

Don't get to excited though, this is going to be updated slowly at first. I mean I still have three others in this section alone that i have to complet and that's not talking about the other sections I write for. So I leave you with this and the promise i will updated it after i finish at least one of he other ones.

Tye.


	2. Welcome to My Hell

**Welcome to My Hell**

Brennan felt like he walked into a hornet's nest.

As soon as he hit the control room entrance he felt the waves of tension flowing from the two blonds and it stopped him in his tracks. It was clear to him that they were fighting, and even clearer that what they were fighting about was either private because as soon as Jesse saw him, he stopped in midsentence.

"Is there something we can help you with Brennan?" Jesse said, a bit too touchy.

Brennan sighed and raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. Ever since he came to Mutant X, Jesse and he had been in a kind of dance. One minute Jesse was a master flirt, and made Brennan's groin tighten. Then the next, he was distant and cold, or challenging. It seemed the closer Brennan tried to get, the farther Jesse wanted him away. He could feel Jesse's tension radiating when ever they were alone together, and it wasn't always sexual.

This past month, it had been worse. Jesse had been avoiding him as much as possible and ever chance he got, started to pick fights. It had gotten so bad that when Adam had to go to a convention, he left Brennan and Jesse at Sanctuary with Shalimar as referee to work it all out.

"I was just looking around for everyone."

"Well you found us," Jesse snapped and turned his back on his two team mates and went back to his computer.

"Right, I think I'll go get some lunch…" Brennan said with a defeated sigh.

"Wait a minute Brennan, I want your opinion," Shalimar called, still glaring at Jesse.

Brennan had the feeling that he was about to be placed smack dab in the middle of the two 'siblings' fight, but still he said, "Sure Shal. What can I do?"

"Answer a simple question for me; does it seem sane to you to go after somebody that nearly killed you?" she asked, putting emphasis on sane and killed.

Brennan noticed Jesse's back tighten and he could just feel the anger coming off in waves. "Ummm….maybe if you went alone…I mean it's not the wisest idea to start with, to many emotions… but defiantly not alone." Brennan answered.

"But isn't also crazy to let that same guy go on killing?' Jesse snapped back, not bothering to turn around.

"You're not the only one who can stop him!" Shalimar yelled.

"No, but I'm the only one who lived!" Jesse retorted as he spun around to face her.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the three teammates as Jesse and Shalimar seemed to be speaking without words. Finally both looked exhausted and slumped in there spots.

"Shalimar, I'm going no matter what you say. I'd rather not do it alone but I will," Jesse finally said, breaking the silence. The look on his face was not one of defiance, but one of need brought on by pain. His blue eyes seemed to scream abused puppy and his whole body seemed to scream help me. It was impossible to say no to him.

"Adam's coming back in three days, and that's how long you have. After that, it's Adam's call. But I swear to god if you go off on your own I'm calling him home early and having him lock you in your room," Shalimar declared, giving in. And just like that the tension in the room was gone.

"Thank you," Jesse said sincerely.

"Yeah well, you just looked to damn cute," Shal mumbled as she stood and closed the distance between her and Jess, wrapping her arms around him securely and hugging him tightly.

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the two, glad that their fight was over. But curiosity was also eating away at him at what sparked the fight and what Jesse meant by; "I'm the only one who lived!" Whatever it was it couldn't be good

"Ummm…guys, I hate to interrupt, but I'm lost," Brennan said once the two had parted.

Both of them gave him identical looks and he felt like he should crawl back into a hole, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he matched their blank looks with one of his own.

"We need all the back up we can get Jess," Shal finally said.

Jesse shock his head and sighed, "Then you tell him." With that he walked away, headed for his room.

Once he was gone, Brennan turned to Shalimar and asked, "What am I missing?"

Instead of answering, Shalimar pointed to the computer screen that Jesse had been working on. There were a serious of articles on the screen with headlines that ranged from, "A New Killer," to "Has He Returned?"

Brennan felt a knot form in his stomach as he read the articles that depicted the abduction, rape, murder, and in some cases, torture of men ranging from twenty to thirty. The stories covered a span of two years, give or take, with a ten month gap from the last killing to the most recent one.

As he read, Brennan was reminded of the fear that had gripped the street when the news of the killer had spread. In fact, he knew one of the victims. But what this had to do with Jesse was beyond him. Shalimar sensed as much.

"It took Adam one crime scene photo to figure out it was a feral responsible for the killing. More specifically a snake feral. At the time, my powers were on the fritz so it was Jesse who did most of the investigation work.

He found a girl, Kelly, who had witnessed the murders and managed to convince her to take him to the place. What we didn't know was that was where he was. He attacked Jesse and Kelly and before Jesse could react, he had ripped out Kelly's throat and paralyzed Jesse.

By the time I had gotten there he was done with Jess and had left. Jesse was barely breathing…I got him home as fast as I could…we almost lost him. He was sick for almost a month afterwards. I guess that's when Adam decided we needed a bigger team cause it was just three months before you and Emma joined."

Brennan was speechless for a long time after Shalimar finished. Suddenly a lot of things made sense to him. "And now he's back so Jesse wants to stop him?"

"Can you blame him?"

Brennan didn't have to think about it, "Not at all. Count me in."


	3. Welcome to my Hell, part 2

**Welcome to my Hell, part 2.**

After having an hour to go over recent events, Brennan felt the erg to talk to Jesse. So he went looking for the Molecular. He searched his room, the kitchen, the control room, the lab, and the rec. room before finding him in the Dojo. The sight before him made his groin tighten; uncomfortably tight.

Jesse was clad only in sweat pants and had a shine of sweet highlighting his finely toned body as he aggressively worked of some pent up rage. The holograms were no match for him, falling one by one, even though Brennan could tell it was one of the more advance simulation that the computer had. What's more, it was all hand to hand, no powers, mo weapons, just skin and bone. That information only made Brennan wait until Jesse was finished before he said anything. If Jesse was pissed enough to do that much damage then the last thing he wanted was that rage directed at him. But as along as he was there, he could at least enjoy the show.

Jesse spent another twenty minutes before he reached his limits. There was a moment there that Brennan feared he'd have to intervene as he watched the molecular stagger around, but Jesse knew his limits. As he crumbled to the floor, breathless he called "simulation end," and just like that the holograms were gone. Another minute passed before Jesse called out to Brennan, "Did you want the holograms?"

Brennan smiled bashfully, Jesse had known he was there the whole time, so much for street stealth. "No, I wanted to talk. I figured I'd wait until you were finished."

Jesse sat up properly and faced Brennan, the same angel look on his face that Brennan was quickly learning was a mask the blond wore. "What about?"

Brennan licked his lips, trying to buy time; there was just no good way to ask about how you survived being rapped and strangled. Thankfully Jesse caught on quickly to Brennan thoughts and answered the unasked questions.

"I barely remember what he did. My kind of molecular has this strange thing about being touched, it over power's our senses. Because our bodies are so in tuned to our molecules and thus our nervous, we feel everything at least ten times stronger. So when he grabbed me…" he Jesse took a breath and Brennan could see him try to school his face back into that pristine angel look and he wondered at it. How could anyone look so perfect, so innocent, when they talked about something so vile? He didn't have long to wonder before Jess continued.

"When he touched me my body was already worked up from…from the initial attack that it didn't take much to push me over the edge. The rape I don't remember. As for when he strangled me…I phased. I felt him reach for my neck and so followed my first impulse which was to phase. That was what caused the biggest problem; my lungs were to shocked to handle it and I could pull myself back together quick enough. I was barely breathing because I was still semi-phased."

There was long silence as Brennan took in what Jesse said. Jesse sat there, his legs pulled to his chest, head resting on his knees, watching the man in front of him. For the last few months Brennan had been the cause of his wet dreams, and the only reason he hadn't acted on any of his feelings was the memory of being helpless. His mind may not remember what took place that night, but his subconscious defiantly did and every now and then it gave him a kick in the ass to remember. Now though, with the truth all laid out there for Brennan to examine and do with as he please, now that he could finally admit it, maybe his subconscious could give it a rest.

"The last reported victim," Brennan started carefully, brining Jesse back to the present time, "Was a friend of mine…."

"Kenny 'Slip' White?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, little Slip…guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know his name," Brennan confirmed, "After all, you investigated everything."

"Kenny was one of his favorites," Jesse said, in a voice just above a whisper, "you could tell because of what he did…"

Brennan shivered visibly. He remembered the night the police came to him with pictures of what his friend's last few _days_ of life had been like. "Kenny and I grew up together, we came from the same kind of house, the same hard life, the same streets, hell we even stole together; I guess you could say we were brothers. I knew Kenny was gay, and hell it's not like I'm a straight edge ether, but Kenny was younger then me and I worried about the kind of guys he went with. I use to go to bars and clubs with him, I wanted to make sure he was safe. See how well that worked out?"

Brennan sighed and, like Jesse, tried to school his face back into that bad boy image he loved to portray. "I was the last one to be seen with Kenny and the police came to question me."

"I know," Jesse piped in, "It was how we first heard about you. I…ummm…I had bugged the lead detective on the case, and when ever he went to interview someone I guess you could say I went a long."

Brennan raised his eyebrows in amusement; some how he wasn't surprised. "Anyways," he continued, "I remember what they told me about how he died, and I remember the pictures of his body…I think I nearly lost it there. I wanted to find the bastard and rip him apart. It wasn't until that moment that anything really had meaning to me. It wasn't until losing Kenny that I really started to care about people…"

Jesse nodded, he understood exactly what Brennan was saying. "The most vivid memory I have of that night was when he killed Kelly. It was like everything slowed down and I saw it happen frame by frame. First Kelly was standing right in front of me, and she was nervous, and terrified. She was just this little homeless girl, a runaway new mutant. She was a empath and I had convinced to trust me. I convinced her that I could keep her safe; that I could protect her and there she was in his arms. She sensed him before he grabbed her, I saw her turn to look behind her just a moment before he grabbed her. I saw his hand come whipping out of the shadows. I saw his other arm wrap around her waist and draw her in. He snapped her neck and then I saw his teeth tare into her throat and she fell. She just crumpled to the floor, her eyes staring up at me so confused and betrayed…It was like it took hours for him to kill her but I couldn't move," Jesse said, his body shaking as the power of the memories took hold. And this time his angel face façade was gone; present now was every ounce of pain, fear, anger, and guilt that had been filling him since that night.

Brennan felt himself look away, the raw emotion evident in Jesse to painful for him to handle. As if on automatic, he closed the distance between the younger man and himself, and drew Jesse into his arms. Much to his relief and surprise, Jesse allowed him, at least until the shaking stopped. "Sorry," Jesse mumbled as Brennan let him pull away.

"About what?" Brennan shrugged off.

Jesse smiled slightly and shook his head, "I guess it was then that I figured out life was real and a computer screen wasn't."

"Yet you still spend hours a day in front of one," Shalimar called from the room's entrance way causing Brennan to jump, but Jesse didn't flinch.

"You've just been waiting for months for this haven't you?" Jesse asked as he watched his sister come to them.

"Uh huh," shed nodded, her blond hair bobbing in her face as she took a seat next to him and wrapped her arms protectively around his frame. "I use to wish you'd finally talk to me, but Brennan's just as good. Besides, maybe now you two can get off your ass and do something about the freaking sexual tension. It's been bugging the hell out of Emma and me. In fact, I think it's gotten so bad that Adam, lord of the clueless men, is starting to pick up in it."

"What?!" Brennan exclaimed over Jesse's burst of laughter. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh huh, then why are you turning red?' Shalimar asked, batting blue eyes at her friend.

Brennan bit his lip knowing it better not to argue with the feral and instead just watched the two 'siblings.' Jesse looked so young in Shal's arms, just resting against her a soft smile on his face, and Shalimar looked like a relaxed mother lion, aware of everything but focused on nothing. The two were obviously close, and obviously family and Brennan felt an erg to be a part of that. It was something that was so strong that it was more of a need then anything.

Without warning the feral grew tense and her eyes flashed gold. Jesse pulled away from her grip, sensing the change and turned to watch her. "What is it?" he asked.

"There's a beep…kind of like an alert beep not a incoming call beep," Shal answered knowing Jesse's next question would be what it sounded like.

"High pitched?" Jesse asked with a sigh. He gave another sigh when Shal nodded and moved to stand while explaining, "That the computer telling me that there's been a report of another murder that matches our guy's MO. I set up a search program with the specifics and set it to alert me whenever it found a match on law enforcement or media channels."

"In other words?" Shal asked, moving to follow her brother.

"He's struck again."

* * *

So now that I got that boreing relationship stuff out of the way, fore the moment anyways, now we can get into the good stuff...

...but you have to read (and reviwe? please.) to find out what happens to our three friends.

Rabies,

Tye.


	4. Remember

**Remember**

"_Have you ever seen true evil, huh kid?"_

Jesse shivered despite the warmth of the evening. The warehouse had already been processed and cleared by the police and CSI Unit, and the three members were doubtful that they'd find anything of use there. But still, it was the crime scene and with Jesse's knowledge and personal experience with the killer and Shalimar's animal instinct and senses, it was still worth a try. This is exactly why the three of them stood staring at the dried pools of blood and disturbed dust.

"Jesse, did you hear me?" Shalimar asked a little impatiently.

For the second time that night, Jesse startled back into himself. "Sorry," he said with a sigh and turned his back to the blood. Shal and Bren exchanged a look, but said nothing. They were both concerned for their teammate and what kind of danger this investigation would put his mental state in, but they knew for a fact that Jess would put himself in far more danger if they were to say something.

"I can't find anything useful here. There's a sent trail, but it's so old that it stops at the door. And from the sent of the blood, I'd say the victim was dead long before he was found," Shalimar repeated.

Jesse nodded, "I figured as much. Guess that means I have to get a hold of the police records, huh?"

Brennan frowned, "How do you plan to do that? The police don't usually put ongoing investigations into databases do they?"

Shalimar and Jess exchanged a smile. "We're just going to have to do it the old fashioned way then," Jesse said.

* * *

"This is the old fashioned way?" Brennan mumbled to Shal as he and she made their way as stealthy as they could through the ventilation system in the police station.

Shalimar smirked, "O relax, we have it all worked out. We'll signal Jesse, he'll set off the fire alarm. We wait a minuet as the station clears; take a few police files, just the copies of course…"

"Of course."

"…And we can't forget the coroner's report or the crime scene photos and then we get out of here. Simple."

"Please tell me you've done this before," Brennan asked. He didn't much like the idea of electrocuting police officers for doing their job. I mean, he didn't really think they'd buy the whole, 'we're mutants trying to save the human race from bad guys and that means were good guys just like you,' story.

"Sure," Shal said, a little too quickly.

Brennan groaned and whished he had reconsidered his agreement to partake in this endeavor. He didn't have long to sulk though.

"We're in place Jess."

"Roger, alarm in ten seconds, get ready."

Shalimar smiled at Brennan as the two waited. As promised, ten seconds later the pre-recorded sound of an electronically voice saying "There has been an emergency reported in the building, please walk to the nearest exit…" screeched it's way through the hall. The detectives below them all began to grumble, grab their coats and leave.

The pair waited for Jesse's signal before they moved; "You two are clear, I've taken out all cameras' in your area, as well as the elevators. You have about ten minuets, get going."

"Got ya Jess, see you in a few," Shalimar said as the two dropped from the ceiling.

It didn't take them long to find what they needed, it was laid out ripe for the taking and Brennan quickly gathered them up into his messenger bag while Shalimar set the bug. It had been Jesse who pointed out that not all the information would be in the files yet and tat they needed away to get it fast. So he had designed a nearly untraceable bug for Shal to place. And once she was done, she took up post as look out. She didn't move from her post until she was sure Brennan was up and away, then she too scrambled up and away into the air vent and the two began to make their way back to Jesse.

* * *

Once the three had made it back to Sanctuary, they began to examine the files taken. Going over every detail until their eyes burned. So far all that they'd learned was that the MO was still the same. There were two bodies, a male and female. The female was killed first, no torture, just a slit throat. The male was dragged away from her, paralyzed, rapped, tortured, and then murdered. The female was unidentifiable, but the male was in his early twenties with dyed blue hair that matched his eyes. The only evidence gathered was the male victim's torn clothes and some chain used to bind the male. No hair, no finger prints, and contaminated DNA.

"They list his DNA contaminated," Brennan said dryly. "Bet you if we run it, it'll come up in a Genomex file."

"Go for it," Jesse mumbled as he looked over the reports.

Shalimar however was silent, a look of terror on her face. She was examining the crime scene photos, trying to pick up on anything that was missed. But instead of looking at the surroundings, her focus was on the subject.

"Shal what's wrong?" Brennan asked when he noticed the feral's peculiar look.

Jesse looked up from the file that had engrossed him and examined his sister, "Shalimar I know what he did was bad, I'm reading the autopsy reports now. Hell, I even know it echoes what he did to me, so if you want to switch…"

"It's not that," Shalimar said softly, "It's…"

But she found it impossible to finish her sentence, so she simply decided to show the boys what was bothering her. She tossed the picture she was holding to the table and waited.

It was a close up of the male victim's face, and if it wasn't for the green hair, it could have been a close up of Jesse.


	5. Remember, part 2

Just a warning: There's rape slash in this chap, I tried not to be graphic, but if you just want to skip it then don't read the part's that are italic, it'll all still make sense. 

Read. Enjoy. Reviwe.

Rabies,

Tye.

* * *

Remember pt 2 

The man in the picture wasn't related to Jesse, and when you looked closely you could see the difference. The nose was a little bigger, the lips fuller, the checks thinner and such. But the similarity was there, and it was enough to get Shalimar worked up.

"That's it, we're calling Adam!" she said for the tenth time as she paced back and forth, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Shalimar, it's just a coincidence…." Jesse started calmly but stopped when Shalimar made a sound half way between a cry and laugh.

The feral stalked her way to the table where the boys were seated and grabbed a pile of folders. She rummaged through them and pulled out the crime scene photos, tossing each one down for the boys to look a. "Just a coincidence?! Just a coincidence?! They all look exactly like you!"

"She's got a point Jess," Brennan chimed in.

Jesse sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah they do…"

"It means he knows you're alive! He's obsessed with you!" Shalimar raged on.

"Then all the more reason why I should be looking for him. You can use me as bait," was Jesse's matter-of-fact reply.

Both Shalimar and Brennan's jaw dropped at the statement and they started at the molecular dumbfounded.

"Are you shitting me?" Shalimar asked when she could finally speak again.

"No. I'm serious."

"Jess, this guy thought you were dead and now he must have found out you're not. That's got to be like a blow to his ego or something…he's not going to make the same mistake again. The next time he gets his hands on you, he's going to kill you," Brennan added.

Jesse shrugged, "I know. But that's only if he gets his hands on me. He can't get me if you two get him."

"So what? You're just going to hang out in the open, see if you can atract him and pray that we know it's him?"

"Do you remember what his sent is?" Jesse asked.

Shalimar was a little taken aback by the question and she had to think about it for a moment. Reluctantly she said, "Yes, I remember his sent."

Jesse shrugged again, "Then tomorrow we hit the clubs. If he sticks to his MO he had a cycle, a club a night, I'll see where he's been and see where he might go."

And with that all discussion on the matter was closed. Shalimar and Brennan exchanged looks, there was no way to talk Jesse out of this; they only hope that they wouldn't end up regretting it.

* * *

It was late, and most of Sanctuary was asleep. But for one member the nightmares that faced him were enough to keep him from resting. Jesse sat in front of his usual computer screen but he stared into space. All the crime scene photos and the police reports had awakened his subconscious and it was now playing a blur of memories, leaving his mind to sort them out. Unfortunately for Jesse, his mind _was_ sorting them.

_To say that it hurt was an understatement. There had been no real foreplay, no preparation, just a violent thrust causing him to cry out. He could feel a scaly hand on his cock stroking and groping him in time with the thrusts and it made his body ach. It wasn't a pleasant feeling; it wasn't exciting or even remotely nice. It was painful and dirty and he fought the orgasm that was coming…_

_Two scaly hands kept his legs pinned as a mouth roughly worked his cock into an erection. Several groans escaped him as teeth gnawed his sensitive limb. It was only a matter of time before he'd come…. _

_He couldn't breathe around the organ that was being forced into his mouth. He could feel the come dripping down the back of his throat and it made him gag. As a result his mouth would involuntarily suck and his tongue, desperate to keep from being swallowed, would begin to toy with the organ. It took a minuet or two, but finally It orgasmed, flooding his mouth… 'at least now he'll let me breathe' he thought… _

_It must have sensed how close he was to passing out because he had stopped and pulled out of him. Now the two sat, It cradling him in his lap as he fondled him. Soft whimpers escaped his throat at the unwanted attention and he heard the sick slither/laugh again that made his blood run cold it wasn't a moment latter that he felt It's hot tongue forcing itself into his mouth he pulled away abruptly a few moments later and whispered, "You're special…. You're very special" before continuing… _

A hand touched Jesse's shoulder and pulled him back to the present time. Wide and frightened blue eyes looked up into soothing and comforting brown eyes. "It's alright Jess, you're safe," Brennan said softly as he crouched down to Jesse's height so that they were face to face. "You're safe."

Jesse gave a quick nod and took a deep breath as he looked away from Brennan back to the computer. "Club Miami is the next place. It's the only club from the first time he was here that he hasn't gone back to yet. If he keeps to his pattern that's where he'll be."

"Good work, now will you go to bed?" Brennan asked, glancing at the computer's clock. It was well passed two am.

"I can't sleep…" Jesse said quickly as the memories speed through his mind again.

Brennan sighed, "You need to. There's no way in hell that Shalimar or I will let you be bait tomorrow if you're exhausted."

"But Brennan…" Jesse's said, sounding more like a young child then an adult, "I see him… I…I remember…" Jesse's eyes began to water and his body began to tremble.

Brennan pulled the younger man up from his seat and into a protective embrace. "You're safe…I'll keep you safe." he said as he tried to sooth away Jesse's fear. He felt Jesse shivering and he could feel his head shaking.

"I just want it to stop…please, just make it stop…." Jesse whimpered.

"What? Jesse, make what stop?" Brennan asked as he pushed Jesse back slightly so he could see his face. Looking in the younger man's eyes it was easy to tell that Jesse wasn't there at the moment. "Jess, snap out of it Jess," he said, trying to stay calm. He felt helpless watching the play of emotions on Jesse's face and he couldn't think of anything to do.

Jesse whimpered, snapping Brennan out of his thoughts and back to Jesse. "Come on Jess, you're safe now, I've got you…you're safe…" Brennan kept the comforting murmur up for several minutes until Jesse's body relaxed.

"God…" Jesse breathed as he pulled away from Brennan, he sunk down in his chair, still shaking, "No…no…no…no…"

"Jess?" Brennan said, again crouching down to be eyelevel with Jess.

"I…it's just…it was too much…I'm sorry…I'm just…."

Brennan put his fingers lightly against Jesse's lips and shook his head, "You keep saying you're sorry when you have nothing to be sorry for. What happened wasn't you're fault…"

"I'm so sick of hearing that…" Jesse breathed, "I'm so tired of that…the truth is that I put myself in the situation and I hesitated and…"

"And what? You let it happen? You let him rape you? If I remember correctly he paralyzed you. That doesn't sound like you let him do anything," Brennan gave a moment for his words to sink in before he continued, "Stop punishing yourself for what happened to Kelly. You may have talked her into going back there, but you didn't make the choice for her. If she hadn't been a good person then she would have run off and left you hanging. You can't blame yourself every time something goes wrong."

"Want to bet?" Jesse said with a half hearted smirk, earning a glare from Brennan. "You know what he said to me?" Jesse said a minute later, "He said about three things to me the entire time but the thing that bothered me the most was_ "You're special." _I…I don't know, I don't know anything. I'm too tired to think."

"Then why don't you get some sleep?" Brennan asked as he pulled the younger man to his feet.

"I don't know if I can…" was the timid reply.

"I'll be there…" Brennan whispered as he brought Jesse in closer to him.

For some reason Brennan's words, the feel of his body, and the smell of his skin did wonders to sooth away Jesse's nightmares and lull him into an almost sleep like trance.

"Hey, no sleeping yet," Brennan teased as the two made their way to Jesse's room, "You have to get to your bed first."


	6. Club Miami

**Club Miami**

Club Miami was one of the biggest and well to do clubs in the city. There was a waiting list larger then the universe and it was so exclusive in member-ship that very few ever did. Even a member's guest had to go threw a screening processes before being allowed in. So how was it that three members of Mutant X found themselves sitting in a VIP room without a member ship pass between them? Jesse of course.

The blond was dressed in a dark wash pair of jeans that fit him just right; tight enough for show but lose enough for movement, a tailored button down black shirt, and his blond hair was spiked to give him that edgy look that seemed to make him look dangerous and boyish at the same time. To top it off was an eyebrow ring. When Jess had gotten that, Brennan didn't know, but apparently he was learning a lot about his teammate in a very short amount of time.

Brennan himself was in black; lose fitting jeans with a dark blue over shirt and black 'beater. His own hair had been ruffled, so that it wasn't exactly spiked but looked like it had been. He was dressed exactly how he wanted to be seen; dark, dangerous and all muscle. After all, tonight he was one of Jesse's body guards. He glanced over a Shalimar, the other body guard, who was sipping her drink casually and already swaying to the music that was being pumped into their room.

She was dressed in all black. Black jeans, black corset top, hair pulled back with a few curls to frame her face. Her make up was that light smoky look that made her blue eyes pop out and guys droll. Normally, Brennan would worry about protecting the girl from all the drunks instead of watching out for what he was suppose to, but not tonight. Chances were he'd have to protect some of the drunks from Shalimar. Fine by him.

He looked passed her out the room's windows to the dance floor below. A trickle of people had already come in, but for many this would be their last stop on their Friday night bar tour. Brennan sighed as he shifted his vision back to Jesse and Shalimar. Jesse smiled when Brennan caught his eye but Shalimar gave him a warning look. She was still mad about finding the boys together in Jesse's bed, though both swore that nothing had happened.

"_I thought you wanted us to do something about the tension," Jesse had teased, trying to calm his sister and keep her from beating both boys into pulp._

"_Not when you're reliving your rape," she snapped back before storming off in stony silence._

They had spent the rest of the day tip toeing around, trying not to piss the feral off any more then she already was and still managed to get work done. Brennan had run the DNA through all the databases he could think of and came up with nothing. Nobody had ever seen a pattern like this one apparently. Shalimar had listened in on the police, again learning nothing. And Jesse had made all the arrangements to get them into Club Miami; apparently he had some connections to the place.

And currently that connection had just walked through the door. Samuel Rodgers was a impressive looking man. He wasn't Brennan's size or height by far, closer to Jesse's build, but still he had an air of alpha dog to him that filled the world. He was clean shaven, neat and trim, blue eyed, and boyishly handsome. He wore a suit shirt un-tucked over jeans, looking every bit like your typical 'club kid.' But this 'club kid' just happened to be the owner and head manager of Club Miami.

"Jesse Kilmartin, what the hell bring you to my door? Asking for scraps again?" he said; eyes only for the blond.

Jesse stood, all smiles, and made his way over to Samuel. As soon as he was in striking distance Sam hugged him as only a lover could and the two shared a knowing kiss. Brennan felt a flare of jealousy that didn't go unnoticed by Shalimar. He felt the feral's hand squeeze his shoulder and looked back at her. Her eyes told him that she'd explain later and Brennan nodded before returning his attention back to the other two men.

"You haven't changed a bit…" Sam said a bit breathy as he and Jesse parted.

"Yeah? And how many of the kids you're going to party with tonight will relies that those are specially ordered and not off the rack?" he replied looking at the outfit.

Sam shrugged it off, "I like clubbing with my patrons; helps me understand their needs better. That's how I devised the security needs, so I'm a bit surprised that you think I have a killer in my club."

Jesse's face lost the flush from the kiss and turned to that CEO blank face. He nodded his head towards the table where his teammates sat and said, "Let's talk, shall we?"

Sam nodded and followed him to the table, taking a seat next to Jess, all smiles for the others. "Hey Shal, been awhile."

"Hey Sam," she said a warm smile on her face. Of all the guys that Jess had dated, he was one of her favorites.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, addressing Brennan, "I don't know you."

"This is Brennan, he's one of the newest additions to Mutant X," Jesse introduced, "Brennan, Sam here is one of the more secretive stops on the underground. He's a molecular, like me, except…"

"Except I work more like the still button on a remote control; nice to meet you," he said, offering his hand to Brennan. Brennan gave him a polite smile and took the offered hand, secretly sizing him up. He found that though he wanted to hate the guy, he was starting to warm up to him. There was a quirkiness to him that made him seem easy going, but under that was an edge made for cutting.

"So," Sam said, looking back to Jess, "What is this about a killer in my mists?"

"You remember the serial killer that stalked the clubs about two years back?" Jesse asked.

"Hell yes. Some of the victims were from CM. The police were here for days poking around. God it was like the shadow of death hung over every club. He was the Jack the Ripper of the clubs for like four years…that's why I made the guest list and membership."

"He's back," Jesse said, cutting to the chase.

The surprise and fear showed on Sam's face, "Are you shitting me?" Jesse shook his head. "So those news stories, saying that there was a copy cat killer out there, that's him?"

"Yeah," Jesse answered.

"But the new vics, they've all be a type and…and he tortured them all, not just a few. I mean, that was with held, right, that he only tortured the ones he…liked?"

"It's him," Jesse assured.

Sam shook his head and looked at his hands for a moment before a thought struck him, "He's hitting the clubs again, isn't he?"

"Yes," this time from Shal.

"And he's hit every club except…"

"Club Miami," Jesse finished for Sam.

"Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph…"

"Still cursing like a catholic?" Jesse teased, earning himself a smile from Sam.

"Old habits...wait, if he comes in here he has to either be a member or staff, he has to be on the list."

"That's not going to help us much though," Brennan said, a little miffed. "We have no name, no profile, no idea what he looks like. All we know is what he smells like and that's Shal's department."

"That's not completely true…" Jesse said softly looking out the window so he wouldn't have to see anyone's face, "I know what he sounds like."


	7. Club Confessions

**Club Confessions**

"So Jesse knows Sam well?" Brennan asked Shalimar from there position above the partiers below. He had a clear view of Jess and Sam down close to the bar, and for added security, the com rings were set to track everyone's movements. Even Sam had one on just incase.

Shalimar smiled as her eyes dotted everywhere, focusing on nothing and everything. They had positioned themselves near the only entrance so that all who passed by, Shal could smell, and they hoped find the guy. It was a thin hope, but still…

"Sam and Jesse have similar stories," she answered, "They're from the same high society, the same school and their both outcasts. Sam's older then Jess though, and a little tougher. He spent many years protecting that loveable younger brother of mine, and many years being his friend. There was nothing really, really serious between them. They kind of both decided that their friendship was more important, but still there was a time, a long, long time ago, that they were closer then friends."

Brennan nodded, again his green eyed monster flaring to life causing Shalimar to laugh.

"They're over each other Brennan. Sam chose a life that Jesse didn't want and they both know it could never work out. Like I said they're just friends."

"More like fuck bodies," Brennan mumbled.

Shalimar gave him a gentle look, sensing the true emotions that Brennan fought to hide and told him softly, "Jesse hasn't slept with anyone or even flirted with another guy since you joined us."

That surprised Brennan, but he didn't have time to say anything; something was happening on the dance floor.

* * *

"So what do you think of Brennan?" Jesse asked Sam as he accepted a drink.

"Not my type," Sam said taking a swig from his beer.

Jesse laughed and Sam just looked at him, "I'm serious, I don't like tops."

That only made Jesse laugh harder and it took him a moment to calm down before he could explain, "Not for you dumb ass."

It took a moment, but the Sam started to laugh and shake his head. He even had the grace to blush a little; "Sorry but my sis, Amy, is always trying to hook me up with guys. Guess I'm just use to trying to defend my honor."

"What honor?" Jesse asked with an eyebrow raised, only to receive a swat on the head and a;

"Shut up, look whose talking."

Jesse shrugged and then got back to the topic at hand, "So what do you think?

"I think he's fucking hot and damn if I did tops I'd be all over him. I also think he's smart, not just a kid off the street, you know what I mean?" Jesse nodded and Sam continued, "I also think that he's got a dark side to him and he might get a little dangerous, but then I just met him so I can't tell."

Jesse nodded, "He does get moody…a lot."

Sam looked at his friend and studied him for a moment. He knew Jesse just about better then anybody else, maybe even better then Shal. After all he knew Jess inside and out. He knew how to push every button the kid had. He knew how to tell when he was scared, how to back him down from throwing in the towel. He knew when Jesse was angry and how to keep him from losing it. He knew how Jesse felt, how Jesse worked, what drove him on. How to hold him when he cried…. And right now he knew that Jesse was in love.

"Just go screw him Jess," Sam said before taking another drink.

Jesse looked at Sam confused, causing Sam to shake his head and sigh; "You're really not that clueless, are you? You're head over heels for him, and if how possessive he was of you in the VIP room was any indication of how he feels, he's head over heels too. So just go screw each other already."

"Can we use your bathroom…?" Jesse said, a wicked smile playing on his face.

Sam turned bright red at the inside joke and turned to look directly at Jesse, "Why you little…."

"Shh…" Jesse said, his body completely tense, his face suddenly all serious.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"I hear him…he's here."

* * *

Sorry, just more boreing relationship stuff. But hey now that it's out of the way we can get on to the good parts! Yea good parts! 


	8. A Game of Cat and Mouse

**A Game of Cat and Mouse**

Brennan cursed as he tried to push his way through the crowded dance floor. He could sense Shalimar to his left and feel his teammates agitation and urgency as they fought their way to Jess and Sam. Brennan could just barely see the two of them, standing by the bar still, backs to the dance floor, Sam's arm around Jesse's waist. To most people it looked like two guys out for the night, but Brennan knew it for what it was. Sam was keeping Jesse close, keeping him safe, and doing his best to keep the bad guy away without giving away the danger. It earned him points in Brennan's book.

"Brennan I can smell him," Shalimar called via the coms.

"Jess, any idea who?" Brennan asked, biting back another curse as a couple of drunks blocked his path.

"He's to my left, three down, can't see his face," Jesse's voice came back in an even tone.

"You sure it's him though?" Sam asked, also even toned. Just two guys having a drink.

"Unless the guy has a really bad stutter…all his 's' are hisses," Jesse answered.

"It's him," Shal added, as if to end all discussion.

"Then I suggest you two hurry because he's walking past us now," Sam said, the tension noticeable in his voice.

"Has he recognized Jess?" Brennan asked, finally free of the crowd. He could clearly see the bar area with Jess and Sam and a hooded figure walking by them. The man was tall and lanky, but Brennan could tell that there was power and strength under that skin. He could also tell that the man recognized Jesse by the lingering touch to the blond's back.

"That would be a mother fucking yes…" hissed Sam as he pulled Jesse closer to him.

Brennan used just about every cursed he knew as he followed the guy with his eyes. "Shal, he's heading for the side ally, stay on him and I'll head him off from the back."

"No good Brennan, he'll kill Shalimar before you get there," Jesse's voice came out in a quite, but forceful tone, "Both you and Shalimar stick with him, Sam and I will come from the back and cut ff his escape."

"Jesse…" Brennan started, but he already knew his argument would be in vain.

"To late, we're already heading out," Sam added and Brennan watched the two head for the back hallway.

"Come on Bren, he's getting away," Shal hissed as she bolted for the side door.

Another string of curses escaped Brennan as he followed her.


	9. Mouse Trap

Mouse Trap

Outside it was eerily still. When Shalimar and Brennan entered the alleyway their target had apparently disappeared. They had no doubt that he had made them and was now hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce.

"We've been made guys, be careful," Shalimar warned as her eyes glowed gold.

"Will do…" Sam responded.

As carefully as possible, Shal and Bren began to make their way towards Jesse and Sam. They moved slowly, scanning every shadow, every inch, for any sin of their pray. It was skin crawlingly tense and every noise and movement made the two jump, but it was the sounds of a struggle that made them run.

"Shalimar! He's here! Help!" Sam yelled over the coms causing the other two to race towards the back alley and Sam and Jesse. They found Sam near convulsing on the ground and no sign of Jesse.

"Sam!" Shalimar called as she went to his side. There was a bite mark on Sam's collar bone and it was clear to Shal he was fighting the affects of the toxin in his blood.

"Came…nowhere…took Jess…couldn't…" Sam tried to choke out.

As soon as Brennan heard those horrible words he took off in the only direction that their target and Jesse could have taken. "Stay with him Shal!" he called before he disappeared out of the alley.

"Jesse…get Jesse…" Sam pleaded before he gave into the toxin.

"Shhh…stay still, don't talk. You'll be fine…Brennan's going to get Jess. It'll be fine," Shal said applying pressure to the badly bleeding bite, at the same time she signaled for the Helix.

She just prayed she was right.

line –

Behind the cub was a vacant lot that lead into a patch of trees. The trees, Brennan knew, shared a border with a park that in return lead to an abandoned part of the city. Brennan knew that if the guy made it into those woods with Jesse, Jesse was dead. Problem was, the guy was moving faster then Brennan, and that was with Jesse's dead weight draped over his shoulders.

The fact that he was moving so fast disturbed Brennan. The fact that he had Jesse, enraged Brennan. The fact that he knew what awaited Jesse should he fail, panicked Brennan. But the fact that Jesse wasn't struggling, fighting, or even appeared to be moving terrified him as he gave chase.

The guy was already half way to the trees by the time Brennan reached the lot and he knew that it would take a miracle for him to catch the guy, or a well placed bolt. The well placed bolt hit the guy in the legs causing him to tumble. Brennan saw him go down and mumbled an apology to Jess as he watched the blond get tossed about like a rag doll.

But the bolt had done the trick and Brennan had managed to catch up with the guy, except the only person he found was Jesse. Cautiously, looking around him, Brennan knelt down next to his friend. They were just a few feet from the tree line, thick grass covered most of the area and blocked them from view of the alley. It was dark, very, very, dark and silent. Brennan didn't like it one bite. He looked down at the younger man and frowned.

Jesse had a cut just above his right temple that was bleeding sluggishly and there was already signs of swelling around his eye socket. Thankfully though, there was no sign that the guy had bitten Jesse and in fact, the blond was moving his arms and legs.

"Jess," Brennan called and noticed with great relief when the younger man's eyes fluttered open.

"Bren…" Jesse chocked out.

"It's alright Jess, you're safe now," Brennan said, tenderly stroking Jesse's hair. Jess tried to sit up, but it took to much effort and Brennan restrained him, "take it easy Jess, you got hit hard in the head, just take it easy."

But Jesse couldn't just take it easy, he knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Things weren't alright and they weren't safe. The most frustrating thing though was that he couldn't manage to put this into words. "He's not gone…" Jesse whispered, but Brennan couldn't hear him. All Brennan could hear was Jesse's strained voice in what he thought was a moan.

"It's alright Jesse," Brennan reassured again, much to the agitation of the younger man. He began to move about, again trying to sit up. And again Brennan tried to keep him still, confused by Jesse's sudden aggression. "Easy Jess, it's alright…."

But it wasn't alright, and Jesse knew it. He could sense _It_ near by. He knew _It_ was coming, but in his confused mind he didn't know how to tell Brennan. All he knew was that he was tired and his head was throbbing and Brennan holding him was very comforting. And thus he felt himself slipping back into oblivion just as a flash of movement came out of the surrounding darkness.

"Brennan…" he screamed, but it only came out as a moan that was lost as Brennan tried desperately to fend off their attacker. Horrified, all Jesse could do was watch as yet another person fell to _It._


	10. Not Again

**Not Again**

"Tell me again what happened," Adam said in a strained voice. Shal had called him as soon as she got back to Sanctuary. Sam was not responding well to the venom and dieing in front of her. She had called Adam in desperation, begging for any help. Thankfully Adam had been able give the nearly panicked feral step by step instructions on how to save Sam.

When Sam was stabilized, and Shalimar calmed, Adam had begun his intense interrogation of the past few days' events, every now and then Emma asking a question or two. She had told them about Jesse's research, the recent murders, and the events of the past evening. Shalimar was now on her third explanation and getting increasingly irritated.

"Jesse found evidence that 'Slither' is back. We've been doing some investigating and we ended up at Sam's night club where we found Slither. Slither attacked us and over powered Sam kidnapping Jesse. Brennan went after them and I haven't heard anything from him since."

"And you thought it reasonable to allow him to do this and not to talk to me?" Adam hissed.

"If I had told Jesse to wait for you he would have gone off alone and you know it! I did what I could!"

"You could have told me!" Adam declared as he slammed his fist down.

There was a pause before Emma spoke, "Yes, exactly, go right a head and yell at each other, fight, because this is exactly what's going to save the boys!"

Adam sighed, and it was obvious to both girls that he wasn't really angry. In fact, Emma could sense that the calm and cool headed geneticist was abnormally frantic, and with good reason….

"_DON'T TOUCH ME!" yelled animalistic Jesse as he lunged from the bio bed to the far wall. It had been so unexpected that Adam had gone momentarily dumb struck as he watched a blond mass rush by him. It wasn't until his mind had come back into focus that he noticed the scalpel._

"_Jesse, it's alright, you're safe now……" he tried to assure as calmly as he could while his mind screamed for help and his heart raced with desperation fueled adrenaline. When Shalimar had brought Jesse in, he had been clinging to life; the venom had spread through his body so quickly, Adam was afraid that Jesse had no natural defense against it. His breathing was unstable, his lungs and heart unable to solidify and his body baring all the horrific signs of being violated._

_The first step had been to stabilize the boy by forcing small amounts of steroids and anti-venom into his blood stream. Once that succeeded in pulling Jesse from the edge of death Adam had examine him. What he found would haunt him for the rest of his life… the boy he promised to protect, his 'son', had been raped. The horrors of that one fact had seeped into Adam's begin as he watched the youth sleep, dreading the moment that he would wake and the conversation that would follow._

_Now, several hours later, Jesse had woken, but he wasn't as sickly or weak as Adam had first feared. Normally this was a good thing, but this wasn't normal. Jesse's mind had closed off from the real world, whipping away everything but its basic programming. It was a common defense of his and it had helped him survive many horrible things reasonable intact, but it meant that he recognized no one and acted as a trapped animal. Like now…_

"_Jesse, I'm not going to hurt you…" Adam repeated calmly, taking a step closer to him._

_Jesse swung the scalpel unskillfully and shouted, "Stay away! Don't touch me!"_

_Adam froze and held his hands in the air, high enough so that Jesse could see there was nothing. "It's Adam, Jesse, and you're home in Sanctuary."_

_The blond mutant shook his head, eyes blazing as they darted from shadow to shadow, "Where is she?!"_

"_Where is who?" Adam asked calmly, though he was sure he knew who she was. The idea was to make Jesse put names with the faces that he saw in his mind._

"_The girl!" was the growled response as the scalpel was jabbed in Adam's direction, making the older man winch._

"_I don't know, which girl are you speaking of? Does she have a name?" But Adam could barely hide the feelings from his eyes, for he knew very well that the girl was currently being buried by Shalimar. It had been the only thing that he could have the feral do while he tended to Jesse._

_There was a moment of intense concentration on Jesse's face before he managed to choke out, "Kathy…where is Kathy?"_

_Adam licked his lips and said several curses to himself. This was part of the conversation he was dreading, "I'm sorry Jess…we were too late to save her..."_

_Jesse shook his head again, horror stricken by what he heard he sank to a crouched position. "No, no, no, no, no, No, No, No, NO!! YOU KILLED HER!" he screamed as he lunged at Adam, but the older man was prepared for this and was able to dodge him._

"_Jesse, that's enough!" Adam yelled as the youth came at him again. This time though, Adam was able to take hold of the hand that held the scalpel and disarm Jesse, while at the same time restraining him. All the while Jesse struggled and screamed as if Adam's touch was burning him, and in the back of his mind Adam realized that might actually be true. The mutant's nerves and senses were so hyper active that Adam had no idea what the sensation of being touched was doing to him. But still, he held firm._

"_Calm down Jesse, just calm down, I'm not going to hurt you!" Adam said, but he doubted the young man could hear him, though he could hear Jesse quite clearly._

"_Please….please don't! Don't touch me…please! No! Please…" he cried over and over again until the words were completely dissolved into sobs and Jesse's body shook with grief._

"_You're safe now Jess, you're safe, I got you…you're safe…" He had repeated those words until Jesse passed out from exhaustion._

"What are we going to do Adam?" Shalimar asked, tears in her voice.

"Start looking for them Shalimar, we'll be there as soon as we can. But if you find them before we get there just go, Jesse won't survive another attack…"


	11. Welcome to Hell

Jesse was coming back to himself in a whirl wind. He was teetering on the edge of consciousness but he already new that he was bond eagle spread to a bed, he'd been striped to his boxers, and there was someone else near him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he opened his eyes, instantly regretting it. Even the small amount of dim light that reached him hurt his head and Jesse groaned as the aches and pain the marred his body made themselves known.

His right shoulder felt sprained, his chest was tight and it hurt to breath. He doubted that he'd be able to get enough air in his lungs to phase. Even if he could breath though, the pain in his head was so over powering that it nearly rendered him senseless. Besides that, he was cold and his limbs ached from being stretched. The only good thing that he could determine was that he hadn't been bitten.

His internal assessment done, he began careful looking around. He had now grown a costume to the light and was able to make out object, though the details were iffy. He was being held in a basement or a boiler room. Somewhere where there was a lot of pipes at least. There was junk that cluttered the floor and Jesse swore he could hear rats close by as well as the sound of mouse traps snapping shut. There was also the sound of even breathing coming from just left of the foot of the bed.

Slowly, so as not to cause anymore pain in his head, Jesse turned his gaze to where the sound was coming from and he was terrified by the sight that greeted him. There, hanging from the ceiling was Brennan. The older man had also been stripped to his boxers, and it was clear that he had been in a fight. There were bruises on his torso and worse yet, a bite mark on his neck. Jesse knew that, even though Brennan was awake, he was paralyzed by the venom.

"So'kay Bren…." Jesse mumbled slightly locking eyes with the element. "So'kay…." He repeated, trying to over some hope.

Brennan's eye lids fluttered, his only way of acknowledging Jesse, all the while wanting to scream that it wasn't. Jesse had been unconscious when the bastard had dragged them here. He had been unconscious as they were bound and stripped. He hadn't been forced to watch at the thing molested both of them or as the rats had climbed over Jesse's still body.

He hadn't been force to wait, and wonder if he was alive. It wasn't alright, it wasn't going to be alright, but Brennan understood that Jesse was trying. He was looking outside his own situation, his own, obvious, pain and trying to reassure Brennan. And for that Brennan was grateful.

Jesse fell silent, not knowing what to say, and not trusting his throat enough to speak. He was thirsty, and his throat felt like it was closing in on itself. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was going to happen to him and Brennan.

He didn't have long to wonder though, the sound of footsteps were coming down the hall….

The cockpit of the small private jet was silent. Adam started absent mindedly out into the distance, only half focused on the instruments. Emma sat next to him, the faithful companion, and tried not to drown in the overwhelming fear that was radiating from her mentor.

"Adam, please, just tell me what you're thinking," she pleaded, a hand going to her temple. She was drowning in him and had been since they had left the convention in the rented jet. Maybe even before that. It had been three hours since Shalimar called and told them the terrible news. Three hours since a past secret came to light and the fear and dread took hold. Never before had Emma ever seen Shalimar or Adam so panicked, and it scared her deeply. And now, with Adam's distracted silence and the emotion radiating from him in such a confined space, she was so close to overloading.

Adam looked over at her, a bit startled to be reminded of her presences and sighed an apology. "I'm sorry Emma, I know it's hard on you, but I can't stop thinking about the last time."

"I know, but just tell me what happened before I lose my mind please," Emma said, a little more harshly then she had wanted.

Adam didn't notice, or if he did, didn't care. "The last time Jesse was raped and strangled," the mentor said in a chocked voice.

Emma breathed sharply, she had known this from the earlier conversation with Shalimar, but it still was hard to hear. "There's something else isn't there?" she pushed after a moment.

Adam nodded, adjusted something on the instrument panel and then continued, "When Shalimar brought him back to me he was wild. He…it was as if he had lost his mind. It was understandable after what had happened, but it was still...indescribable. He was in the same state that we found him when we pulled him out of Genomex. But as always, Jess was able to pull his mind off the brink. It took some time, and a lot of convincing but I managed to get him to believe he was safe."

"What happened Adam, after he calmed down?" Emma pushed, sensing there was more.

Adam was silent for a few minuets, trying to voice the horror that was clouding his mind. There was no right way to say what he knew, so he decided to be blunt, "He told me what was done to him."

"The rape?"

"Not just that, but the…" here Adam stumbled to find the right word, "torture. His mind wasn't pushed so close to the edge because of the attack or almost dieing, it was pushed so close to the edge because of what the bastard made him do while he was helpless."

There was a brief silence as Emma waited for him to continue, and when he didn't she prompted, "What was he forced to do?"

"Not all of the blood I found on Jesse was his."

Emma cringed at that statement.

"Leaving without me?" Sam asked as he limped his way into the hanger. He had traded his tailored shirt for one of Jesse's old t shirts, hoping that it would be more comfortable against the bandage on his neck.

Shalimar looked him over taking in the pale complexion, the slightly glazed eyes and the determined set to his face. "Sam…"

"No Shalimar, I'm coming. I've been saving Jesse's butt a lot longer then you have and I'm not going to let him down now."

Shalimar let the ghost of a smile play at her lips, she had always like Sam better then any of Jesse's other's boy friends. "I was going to say Sam you can come, but you have to stay in the Helix. He's going to smell the blood and that'll give us away. Besides, you're still sluggish and that could be costly."

Sam just nodded, not wanting to argue with the already tense feral and took his spot in the co-pilot seat next to Shalimar. Once they were settled and the engines had been started, Shalimar eased the Helix out of the hanger into the air.

It took only an half hour for them to reach the same ally where they had last seen Brennan and Jesse and then only a few minuets more for Shalimar to pick up the sent.

"Let's go save our boys," she breathed before she took off.

Brennan had to close his eyes. He couldn't stand the sight of_ It_ on top of Jesse. Just hearing the younger man's plaintive moans and whimpers were bad enough.

"I want you…" Brennan heard him hiss and it was accompanied by a strangled gasp from Jesse.

"Na…na…noooo…." Jesse panted as he struggled a best he could with the weight of his attacker on him and the throbbing of his head. Nimble fingers stroked Jesse to hardness while a rough tongue was forced into his mouth. Jesse could feel panic rising in him and his struggles grew more fierce.

With out warning _It_ stopped and climbed off of Jesse, a satisfied hiss on his lips. He looked down at the blond enjoying the flush look on his checks and the fear that radiated from him. "I want you….but later…play with the other first…."


	12. Slither

**Slither**

Brennan wanted to scream, but that was impossible. Not only did _It_ have a firm grip on his throat, but _It _had invaded his mouth. He could feel the forked human tongue moving, exploring, probing. He could feel it slid to the back of his throat and he started to gag. A hand had travailed to his penis and was spending great efforts to mesmerize the organ.

As _It_ pulled it's mouth away from Brennan, the element groaned and shut his eyes; a vain attempt to try and stop the unwanted pleasure. _It _would have laughed at that, except he was to caught up I the length of Brennan. _It_ let his tongue travel down him and his teeth mark him as he made his way closer to Brennan's penis.

A tug on his boxers made Brennan flinch, "Nah-o…." he managed to breath out, but it was to late. Before the word had even left his mouth Brennan felt _It_ take him into his mouth.

Brennan wanted to scream.

LINE

Shalimar had never ran this fast before. She had never been so animal before. It was strange, and exciting, and morbidly right. She wasn't human after all, not to night. To night she was a lioness who was hunting down her pray. She was a predator who had lost her pride mates and wanted to tear the world a part. She would bring them home or the world would pay.

A sudden stillness made her stop as she broke the cover of the trees. The sight of factories and warehouses greeted her, but so did the stillness. It was almost supernatural in feeling, almost a touchable entity. It was the stillness of another predator.

She was on someone's border. She was encroaching on another predator's territory. She was dancing with danger. But there, on the wind, she could smell it. Jesse. Brennan.

They were close. Her boys were close. And they were hurt.

Something close to a growl escaped her and cautiously she made her way to her boys.

LINE

Jesse was struggling with his bonds. There was no way in hell he was going to let _It_ do to Brennan what _It_ had done to him. The only problem was that Jess was still to out of it to phase. Letting out a cry of frustration, Jesse did the only thing he had left, he begged.

"Please…" Jesse whimpered, "Please…not him…please me…" At first it seemed like _It_ didn't hear him. There was a silence in the room except for Brennan's moans and the sick sound of _It's_ mouth. For the longest minuet of his life Jesse thought that _It _hadn't heard him or was ignoring him. He could feel the tears sliding down his face and he tried one last time;

"Please…I'll do anything you want…please…."

Jesse then closed his eyes and rested his head on the mattress. He was sick to his stomach and couldn't bring himself to watch any longer. He couldn't save Brennan, he couldn't save himself; it was his fault they were there, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it….

A weight settled on his body and hot, sticky breath caressed his skin, jarring Jesse back from his pit of despair. He was able to catch just a glimpse of Brennan before _It _took back his attention.

"Anything…"_ It_ breathed into Jesse's face as _It _leaned in to kiss him.

"Anything," Jesse whispered back, offering the thing on top of him accesses.

He didn't fight _It's _kiss or the hands the started to molest him.

LINE

Damn man and their industries. There were to many buildings, to many places to search. The sent was drifting on the wind from place to place making it nearly impossible for her to pick up the correct trail.

"Sam this is going to take to long…" Shal growled in her com ring.

"Way a head of you Shal. I'm using the onboard computer to located them. Their coms are still active. Might take me a minuet, I'm not Jesse. Keep sniffing around."

"Very funny, hurry up."

LINE

Jesse couldn't breath, he had no room in his throat. He could feel the cum dripping down the back of his throat, and he was well aware of the mouth that massaged his own organ, but there was nothing he could do. His body was close, oh so close, to that familiar abyss where pleasure and pain were one and the same and what he wanted didn't want didn't matter.

He was half way there when a cool wind blew into the room. For an instant _It _stilled, senses on high alert. _It _then gave a low hiss from deep with in his chest. He released Jesse and the blond groaned at the suddenness and twisted slightly in his discomfort. His attacker slid off him and without a word left both Jesse and Brennan to stare after him in disbelief.


	13. Step at a Time

**Step at a Time**

The daze lasted only seconds as Jesse's survival instinct kicked in. Again he tried twisting in the ropes, testing the knots, and again they held fast. Again he tried to phase, but this time focusing on just his wrists, and this time it seemed to work. He managed to free them, though it hurt like hell, and soon he freed his feet.

Once freed, Jesse rolled himself out of bed, and landed in a heap on the floor. He stayed still for a moment, letting his trembling body recover a bit before the next burst of adrenalin pushed him into action. Jesse managed make it to his knees, with the help of the bed, and, before attempting to stand, he made sure his briefs had been pulled back up.

Brennan watched him with critical eyes, looking for any signs of injury or weakness. He was relived to see that Jesse seemed to be alright, though a bit shaken, and was even more relived to see the molecular up and walking.

"Hang on Bren, Jesse said with a shaky voice, "I'll have you free in a minuet…."

'And then what?' Brennan thought. While Brennan was starting to regain some movement back, he doubted that he could walk. And Jesse didn't look like he was up to supporting him. But he was about to find that Jesse was full of surprises.

Positioning himself in front of Brennan, and pressing his length against Brennan's, Jesse was able to ensure that Bren would be supported as he untied him. "Sorry about the close quarters…" he whispered into Bren's ear as he made sure Bren was also covered up.

"Saaaa…kayyyy…." Brennan whizzed, resting his head on Jesse's shoulder. Despite the situation, he found he like Jesse's closeness, and the sent of him….

"Don't go to sleep on me…." Jess ordered softly as he lowered Brennan's right arm carefully. He made sure to rub some life back into it before moving on to the left, though he could still make out the muffled groan from Bren. Soon, the element was freed and Jesse was rearranging Brennan's weight so that he could move him

"Alright Bren," Jesse began as he started to half drag, half carry, the other man towards the door, "I'm still a little off balance and phasing is out for the time being, so we're going to do this the old fashioned way. And you're going to have to help."

"Don….ont….knooow if….can."

"We'll you're going to have to," Jesse said, making his sentence an order, "So pick up your damn feet."

If Brennan had a response, Jesse didn't hear him, both boys just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

LINE

Shalimar cursed.

That was the second dead end of her search and she was getting frustrated. "Damn it Sam, how's that trace coming?" she hissed angrily.

"Slowly. The rat ass picked a good spot to hide there's electrical interference every where."

Another hiss escaped Shal and it was followed by a string of undistinguished curses. "Well do what you can, and do it fast, they don't have much time."

"I know," Sam said grimly, "I'm going to call Adam, he's got to be close by. If he can met me here, maybe he can tell me what to do or do it for me…"

"Right. Or maybe Emma can find them without any help at all. Either way, do it fast."

LINE

"Helix to Adam, you there?"

Both Adam and Emma were startled out of their thoughts and started down at the com links.

"Who the hell is that?" Emma asked, unease clear in her voice.

"Sam, I'll explain later," Adam said before he spoke into his com, "What is it Sam?"

"Shal and I've found he general area where Jess and Brennan are, but Shal can't pick up any useable scent and there's a problem with the com trace. We need help."

Adam was silent for a moment as he glanced over at Emma, he could already see her opening her mind to locate the boys. "Already working on it," Adam said, "We'll be there in a few minuets.

LINE

Jesse and Brennan were not making good progress. They were stumbling along and had only made about half way up the hall. The good news was that they could see the stairs that lead out of the basement, and Brennan seemed to be walking better.

"We're almost there," Jesse said, "Keep moving."

Brennan just grunted, Jesse had been saying the same thing for nearly a half hour and it was getting old.

"Jessss..." Brennan breathed… "Sh…ut…up…."

Jesse laughed, "I wouldn't have to talk if I didn't have to drag your sorry ass."

Brennan just grunted.

The boys stumbled on, and eventually reached the stairs before they had to stop. Jesse lowered Bren onto the steps before leaning himself against the wall. The focused on breathing for several moments before Bren found his voice.

"Leave me…"

"What?"

"Leave me…"

"No fucking way."

"Jess…"

"No fucking way. We're getting out of this together Bren."

"I…slow…you down…."

Jesse sighed frustrated. It was true, Brennan was slowing him down, and time was essential at the moment. He had no idea how long _It _would be gone. But still, he couldn't picture leavening Bren behind.

"We'll think of something," Jesse said as he leaned down to help Brennan back to his feet, "But right now we need to move."


	14. Back Up

Shalimar hissed, something didn't smell right

**Back Up**

Sam was never so happy to see anyone in his life. Emma and Adam were like the super hero's coming forth to save the day. He met them half way between the helix and their car an update of the current situation already rattling off. He ended his update with, "And I've lost contact with Shalimar."

Adam nodded grim faced as he quickly thought about the best course of action. Turning to Emma he saw that she was already opening her mind to scan the surrounding areas for any sign of her teammates, "Once you're picked up a trail go. I'm going to take Sam and head back to Sanctuary. If the boys were bitten I want to get that anti-venom ready."

Emma nodded, her gaze focusing on something that he couldn't see. "I found Shal, tell her to stay put if you can. I'll make sure to call when we're on our way," she said before taking off in the same direction as Shalimar.

line.

Shalimar hissed, something didn't smell right. She crouched in the shadows, her feral eyes scanning the horizon. Something was coming and it stank. Moving skillfully, she stuck to the shadows, her eyes ever watchful but she never saw _It _coming.

_It _sprang from a hidden hole, hitting her in the stomach and taking her to ground. For an instant Shal was caught off guard and had the wind knocked out of her. The pair tumbled for a moment, exchanging hisses and snarls. In this moment there were no humans just animals as a lion tried to keep a viper from biting her. There were growls and hisses and cries of pain as the two exchanged blows and attempted to gouge out each other's eyes.

The fight didn't last long before it was interrupted, in their heightened feral states, both mutants heard the sounds of approach. But while one recognized the sent, the other fled. And just as the other was about to give chase, an order broke through her wild mind;

"Shalimar, wait for Emma."

line.

Jesse cursed as again he and Brennan collapsed. They had made it up the stairs with much struggle and Jesse was on the edge of his endurance. "Can't take much more of this," he mumbled to himself.

"Told…ya….too…leave me," Brennan coughed.

"And I told you fuck no," Jesse sighed.

"We…running…out of time…"

"I know."

Jesse could feel himself getting frustrated. His head hurt, he felt sick and his strength was fast depleting. But no matter how bad he felt he knew that Brennan was feeling worse. He looked over at his teammate and took in the pained expression, the haggard breaths and the pale features. He needed to get Brennan out of there and fast, but he knew he didn't have enough strength to get them both to safety and time was running out.

With a frustrated sigh Jesse looked around him. The two had emerged from the basement into the ground level loading dock of an obviously abandoned warehouse. There wasn't much in the hiding department, especially considering that _It_ was feral and could smell them from a mile away.

Jesse looked back at Brennan, he was resting with his eyes shut now. The tough guy image he tried so hard to maintain had slipped away and all Jesse could see was a hurt and vulnerable boy who trusted him to make it all better. And this time he'd be damned if he let anyone down. But how did he get Brennan to safety?

That's when he noticed the mud pit by the loading dock dumpster.


	15. Find Me

**Find Me**

"This isn't going to smell to good, but I have a plan," Jesse said after some quick thinking.

"What?" Brennan asked, to tired to be confused. He groaned as Jesse forced him back up to his feet.

Stumbling forward, Jesse quickly explained, "That mud pit over there is going to provide you cover while I go find help."

"I don't understand."

"There's no way you and I are going to make it out of here together, I'll be faster on my own. But with a feral you can't hide, so I'm going to cover you in mud to hide your sent and then go get help. Shalimar can't be to far away…."

Jesse prayed he sounded more confident then he felt. He was sure from experience with Shal, that the mud would hide Brennan's sent well enough to confuse _It._ He was also sure that Shalimar was looking for him and Brennan. He wasn't so sure that he could make it very far though.

"Jess, why can't we call her? Why can't we use the com's to call her?" Brennan asked, still wheezy.

Jess, shook his head, "I don't think we can or should. If we could have called Shal with our coms, we would have already heard from her, and if she's out looking for us, she's to feral to hear us. No, I have to go get her."

"I don't want us separated, neither of us can fight him off…."

"We don't have a choice Brennan, and sitting here arguing with me is just wasting time. So come on and get up and let's start moving."

With his peace said, Jesse managed to drag himself and Brennan to their feet and he began to head for the dumpster. It took them about five minuets to get there and another two to get Brennan covered in mud. The element was not happy, not only did his body ach, but he was unable to protect Jesse and was now covered in the worst smelling gunk he'd ever seen. To top it all off, he had gotten some in his mouth and was almost sure that this wasn't just mud.

"How are you?" Jesse asked, crouched next to Brennan who was propped up next to the dumpster hidden by the shadows and a wall.

"It doesn't stink, it reeks, and I can taste it…."

Jesse gave him a half smile, "I told you it wasn't going to be pleasant…but it's only going to be for an hour at the most while I go and find Shal. You'll be alright?"

"I'll live," Brennan grumbled.

Jesse took one last, long look, before nodding his head and turning to leave. As he rounded the corner Brennan called, "Be careful," and then he was gone.

Shalimar did as she was told. She wasn't happy about it, but she did it. Emma didn't take longer then five minuets to find her but to Shalimar it felt like a lifetime.

"He got away," the feral growled as Emma barely slowed down while running past her.

"Jess and Bren are this way, follow me!" She called over her shoulder and again Shal did as she was told.

_It_ was furious. He hadn't expected the cat to show up. He hadn't seen her when he grabbed him. There had been the other boy, he had followed. But he was nothing, and almost as worth the blond. They were both going to be fun, but now everything has changed.

The cat was coming, she'd find him. And there were more, others out there on the wind that approached. And there were the damn claw marks, they were too close to his neck, too close to his throat. He was bleeding, and predators were coming. He had to move his pray, had to hide. He couldn't take both, so it would have to be the blond. It would have to be him, he'd kill the other and take the blond….

But what was this…

They were gone.

_It _hissed, anger growing in. Breathing the wind, weak as it was,_ It_ picked out the scent of _It's_ pray and set out after them.

The scent lead _It_ down the hall and up the stairs into the main room of _It's _home. And it was here that things got confusing. _It_ could smell them both and then only one. Both went to the back exit, one went to the main exit. For awhile _It_ simply circled the room, trying to decide where to go. Eventually though _It_ deiced to follow the one scent, because that was the one _It_ wanted.

Brennan breathed a sigh of relief. When he first saw _It _approaching his hiding place, he had felt his heart stop. He was sure that _It_ would find him and then Jesse and that would be the end. But Jesse's trick had worked, the mud had covered Brennan's scent. He was safe.

But _It_ had found Jesse's scent, and all Brennan could do was watch.

Jesse had made his way cautiously out of the building until he found the shadows of the neighboring building. The cool night air played along his skin, both exciting his nerves and chilling him. His entire body felt like it had been put through an iron press and exhaustion was threatening to take control. Yet all this he ignored, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Perhaps this is why he failed to notice _It_ lurking in the shadows.


	16. The Waiting Game

Waiting Game

Jesse had made his way cautiously out of the building until he found the shadows of the neighboring building. The cool night air played along his skin, both exciting his nerves and chilling him. His entire body felt like it had been put through an iron press and exhaustion was threatening to take control. Yet all this he ignored, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Perhaps this is why he failed to notice _It_ lurking in the shadows.

But _It _had noticed him.

Slowly _It _emerged from the shadows, carefully stalking Jesse. Every thing depended on timing now, now that Jesse was in the open. The sent of the others were circulating the air and_ It_ knew that they were coming closer. He didn't have much time and this one would not get away again.

The opportunity presented itself when Jesse paused to catch his breath by the side of a neighboring building. It was clear that he was still suffering some affects from being knocked out and was struggling to remain upright. It was a perfect condition for _It._

Jesse was attacked from behind and though he struggled, he was unable to prevent _It _from biting him. A cold fire started to spread into his blood and his body started to go limp. His vision blurred, his throat started to close and a familiar fear crept up his spine. Some how he found the strength to crawl, on his stomach, away from his attacker. But it was not far enough, nor quick enough and Jesse quickly found himself roughly rolled onto his back.

Before he knew what was happening, _It_ straddled him and bites him twice more on the neck. At once, Jesse went limp. He couldn't move anything, not his limbs, not his head, not even his eyelids. His breathing began to shallow out and it was clear that he was going into shock. That didn't matter to _It_. He picked up the limp form and disappeared into the shadows.

line

Emma led Shalimar to a decrepit looking building in the back of the yard. On the outside it looked like everything else, and there was no sign of anyone. No scent, no sound, just a building. But Emma was dead sure of herself and she walked right in.

"Brennan," she called softly, her ears straining to hear the slightest sound. "Brennan, where are you?"

Shalimar stuck close behind her, her eyes watching the shadows and her senses on full alert. The smell of Jesse and Brennan were everywhere, and so was _It_.

Emma paced for a bit, going from one side to another as if she was following a sent trail. Eventually she made her was to the back of the building and out into the ally. Shal cursed and quickly made her way over to Emma. One day she would have to teach the girl about not separating from your partner when there was an enemy around.

But the scene before her caught any words of scolding she could have for Emma and replaced it with a cry of joy. There before her, Em was helping a mud coated Brennan to his feet.

"You're alright!" The feral cried as she hugged her missing pack mate.

Brennan, still unsteady, had to lean against the dumpster for support, "I'm still standing…" he reassured Shalimar, and then looking around asked, "Where's Jess?"

"Isn't he with you?" Shalimar asked, pulling slightly away.

"I could barely move, Jess hid me here then went to look for you…." A feeling of absolute dread washed over Brennan as he looked from one girl to the next.

Shalimar's eyes flashed golden and she pulled back from her two teammates. "Emma, get Brennan to the Helix and fire up the engine. I'll find Jesse."

And she didn't give them time to argue, as soon as she was finished speaking, she was gone.

line

Jesse had no idea where he was or what was happening. Everything was blurring together so fast that he couldn't even tell which way was up and which way was down. His body felt funny, it was both relaxed and tight all at the same time and it hurt to breath. He could feel some one touching his legs and some one touching his face and his chest and his neck…. He didn't like it.

He tried to move, tried to wiggle or even scream, but he couldn't. He couldn't hear, he couldn't move, he could barley see and he was starting to lose his breathing. The only thing he could do was feel, and he didn't like it.

line

_It _had never felt so intoxicated, so in power over anything ever before. Here was the one who had gotten away, had left him, and then tried to find him, then tried to catch him, here he was completely helpless. Here was his favorite.

The feel of his skin, so soft and smooth against his lips. His scent such a wonderful mixture of fear, desperation, pleasure and death. His taste, every bit as sweet as he remembered….

It was as if a dream had come true all over again.

_It_ had him pinned under him, _Its'_ mouth over his, touching him ever so slightly. _It _wanted him, wanted him badly. But _It_ wouldn't rush, _It _would take it slow. _It_ would enjoy him.

Starting at the lips, then making its' way down, down to the neck then the chest. Toy with each nipple, hear him whimper, then continue on the way down. The shorts were in the way and had to be removed. Now there was nothing to stop _It._

There was a moan from the boy under _It_ as _It _took the length of him in _Its_ mouth, and it was exciting. So exciting that _It_ failed to notice her until she was already there.

"Let him go…" came the growl from behind him and a few seconds latter there was the searing pain as nails clawed flesh.

line

Sam and Adam had been ready for nearly two hours since Emma called to say that they had found Brennan. It would be about another hour before she would call again saying that they had Jesse, he was critical, and that they were on their way.

Wordlessly the pair prepared a gurney and took it to the hanger where they would meet the Helix. Sam would tend to Brennan and Adam would take care of Jesse. Emma knew to keep Brennan on the Helix, and Adam could trust that Shalimar would have Jesse. Now it was just a waiting game.

Twenty minuets later the Helix roared into the Hanger. Just as Adam had expected a blood covered Shalimar was carrying Jesse in her arms and the molecular was not looking good. His eyes were opened and the pupils dilated. His breathing was haggard and shallow and it was clear that he was in toxic shock. Time was of the essence now and Adam and Shalimar rushed Jess off to the med bay.

Sam, doing his best to push aside the fear for his best friend, moved into the Helix where Emma was trying to keep Brennan still.

"But Jess…" he was saying as the red head tried her best to sooth him.

"Yeah, but first we got to give you the anti-venom Brennan," Sam said softly as he quietly approached the pair.

"The venom's out of my system, I'm fine," Brennan snapped. He was huddled against the wall of the Helix, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and mud coating his skin.

"I'm sure you're fine," Sam said, "but this is just in case. Besides, don't you want to get cleaned up and changed before you see Jess?"

Brennan bowed his head, and it was clear to both Emma and Sam he was tired. They knew that the element was at the end of his strength and so they were relieved to see him nod his head in agreement.

"Good, then lets get you to your room…" Emma said, helping her friend to stand.

Sam let the pair pass, handing the anti-venom to Emma. She gave him a thankful smile and met his eyes; speaking with out words they both knew it was going to be a long night of waiting.


	17. Breath

**Breath**

He couldn't breath.

There was air all around him but none in his lungs.

There was fire all over him, but not on him. Burning inside him, making his heart hurt and burning the air. He could feel his heart beating, pounding, slamming into his rib cage. It was beating him from the inside out and he knew that his chest couldn't take any more.

And then it happened. With one last violent thud it stopped. But it didn't stay stopped. There was a hiss and then pain and his body twitched. And his body jerked. And his heart started again.

It started slowly at first. Bearable. But that didn't last. It speed up again. And slammed into him again. And it stopped again. And there was the hiss and the pain and the spasm and the jerk. And his heart started again, and so did the fire.

There was pain and touch and he couldn't move. There was movement all around him, but none from him. There was a familiar touch of comfort that caused him immense pain. A cool softness on his head and a needle in his arm and then ice in his blood. It spread and spread all through him until the fire was gone.

Now if only he could breath.

line

He was never one for showers. He hated them. Nothing could embody his biggest fear better them a metical cage with copper pipes and water. But right now, the shower was heaven.

The hot water was doing wonders for his muscles. The dim candlelight that Emma had insisted on was lolling him into numbness, and the sent of his body wash made him feel clean…even if it was an illusion.

He didn't know how long he stayed under the spray. Long enough for the water to cool. Long enough for his skin to turn pink. Long enough for Emma to get worried. Not long enough to forget anything.

"Brennan, come on, Adam wants to take a look at you…Brennan…" Emma was saying over and over again, knocking on the door. But Brennan just ignored her. Adam could wait until Brennan felt clean.

line

Emma was about to hit the door again when Sam caught her hand.

"Take your time Brennan, just go see Adam when you're done," he said, ignoring the look on Emma's face. He practically dragged the taller girl out of the room and into the hall. And as soon as they were out of earshot of the element Emma tore into him.

"What the hell are you doing?! Brennan needs to be looked at! He can't stay in the shower all night! He might be hurt or reacting to the venom! He can't stay in there all night!"

"No, but he can stay until he feels clean again," Sam said evenly, never flinching or looking away from Emma. He knew that she was angry, just like he knew she wasn't angry with him. This all sucked, it really sucked, and he knew there was a lot of guilt and self blame going around.

_If only I had be faster. If only I had been there. If only I had said something sooner. If only I had fought harder. If only, if only, if only…._

But you can't change the past with if only, and you can't fix the future with guilt. And Sam knew that if anyone could help fix this it was the red head standing right in front of him.

"Emma, you're a empath, right? You feel everyone's emotions?"

Emma, still a little stunned by Sam's statement, nodded.

"This is going to be harder on you then everyone else because while they're going to be acting 'fine' you're going to be feeling their pain, anger, guilt, and whatever else. Aren't you?"

Again Emma nodded.

"Then right now, you should focus on doing what you need to do in order to brace yourself for that. I know I'm not a part of the 'team,' but Shal trusts me. She trusts me enough that she lets me take care of Jess. Can you trust me to take care of Brennan? So that you can hold it together?"

Emma searched this stranger's face. Locked eyes with him and pushed into his head. He offered no resistance, no walls. In fact, he let her walk right in. Let her see the truth of his words and the depth of his soul. He was not an innocent person, Emma could see that. It wasn't a holy person, or even all that good. He was however honest, and dependable. He did care deeply for Jess and Shalimar, and even Adam. She could sense that he genuinely liked Brennan and her and that he hoped for a friendship between them. She could sense all this and knew that it was the truth.

"You'll take care of him? Make sure he goes to see Adam?"

Sam gave her a heart breaker smile and said, "promise. Go take care of yourself. They're going to need you."

Emma bowed her head and sighed softly before nodding. He was right, this fight wasn't over and her round, the hardest round, was going to start soon. That pleasant thought in mind, Emma went in search of a quite and solitary place to meditate and prepare her mind.

Sam watched her walk away and sighed heavily. He did not envy her, her task, but there was still the matter of the element and that was not a pleasant one.

Line

"What were you thinking? Letting him go off half cocked after…" Adam bellowed.

"I was thinking that I didn't want him running off and doing it alone!" Shalimar snapped back, interrupting her mentor.

Both were seething. Their nerves were shattered after nearly losing Jess twice and now that they were left to their own devices, they went at each other's throats.

"You should have called me, waited for Emma and I to come back! You never should have handled this on your own!" Adam scolded, barley able to control his anger. He knew that this wasn't Shalimar's fault. He knew that he wasn't really angry, that what he was expressing was worry and fear and helplessness. But he couldn't stop, not any more then the feral could.

"Don't you think I know that?! Don't you think I know it's my fault?! But, damn it, he needed this! He needed to find him, to stop him! I couldn't say no, and if we had waited for you then there would be another dead body and another reason for Jesse to hate himself!"

Her tirade finished she turned her back on Adam and looked through the glass doors to her baby brother. He was laying on the med table, paler then a ghost, unmoving, vulnerable, and broken. Her mind screamed that it wasn't Jesse lying there. The sad, decrepit being wasn't, couldn't be her baby bother. But her reality knew there was no sense lying to herself. "Is he going to make it Adam? Is he going to be alright?" and she couldn't stop the tiny child voice that came from her or hide the fear in her words.

From behind her Adam gave a long and tired sigh. He seemed to have aged at least five years tonight, and the normally vigorous youthful scientist was replaced with an old, empty shell. "He'll live. He's stabilized."

The fact that he didn't say 'He'll be alright,' did not go unnoticed by Shalimar.


	18. Taking Care of Brennan

Taking Care of Brennan

The water had finally cooled to the point that Brennan could feel it through his numbed mind. To the point that he was shivering. He sighed and reluctantly turned off the spray, resting just a minuet before stepping into the bathroom and reality.

Emma had stopped banging on the door sometime ago, but Brennan had just noticed. In the back of his mind he wondered and some mixture of words came to mind spoken by a familiar yet strange voice. But Brennan didn't give a damn as he set to work vigorously drying himself off then brushing his teeth. A bottle of mouthwash latter he emerged from the bathroom into his empty and dark room.

Brennan quickly dressed in his favorite pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. He knew that Adam was going to be waiting for him in the med lab but he didn't want to leave his room. He didn't want to be questioned by well meaning friend, examined by an anxious mentor, watched like a hawk by an overprotective feral, or to see how bad Jesse was.

'God Jess….' Brennan thought as he flopped down onto his bed. Part of Brennan wanted to blame this all on Jess, wanted to hate the younger man for being so driven to find this psycho. For putting himself in danger, and thus everyone else. But he couldn't bring himself to. He just couldn't, because he knew without question that if he were in Jesse's shoes he would have done the same thing. Hell, he would have gone off alone and wound up dead. As much as he wanted to blame this all on someone, he knew that, that was impossible.

There was a knock on his door and Brennan chocked back a sobbing laugh. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

"Brennan, it's Sam, are you hungry?" came a strong but kind voice.

It took Brennan a moment to remember who Sam was, and even as he did he only thing that stuck out was that he was Jesse's friend. That alone was enough to get Brennan's stiff body moving towards the door. Opening the door, Brennan was expecting Sam to be halfway inside even though Brennan was blocking the way, just like Shal and Em would. Instead he found Sam waiting patiently across the hall.

Sam had a small smile for Brennan and blank eyes. He was tired, Brennan could sense that, and somewhere in his memories of the night he pulled out that Sam had been bitten too. "Hungry? Emma said something about eggs in the fridge," Sam repeated.

Brennan frowned, he was a bit hungry if he had to be honest, "Yeah, I guess."

"Good, cause I hate eating breakfast by myself," was the reply as Sam started to head for the kitchen without a backward glance to see if Brennan would follow.

Half an hour later and Sam was finishing up his plate of scrambled eggs while Brennan was picking at his.

"I know I'm a limited cook, but I do cook pretty good eggs," Sam said as he watched Brennan out of the coroner of his eye. He noted how the bigger man looked tired and deflated, like he was being crushed by the world's biggest weight on his shoulders.

"Wha -? oh, sorry. Guess I'm not all that hungry," Brennan said pushing the barely eaten food away. Wordlessly, Sam took the plates and deposited them into the sink.

"You up to see Adam? Or do you want to try to get some sleep?" Sam finally broke the silence about two minuets later.

"Are you my baby sitter now?" Brennan growled, a warning in his voice.

Sam ignored it, "Pretty much. Adam or bed?"

"I don't need a check u, I'm fine," Brennan hissed.

"Sure you are, but Adam still wants to see you. He wants to make sure you weren't-"

Brennan despised the soothing tone of Sam's voice more then anything at the moment and he could feel himself losing his temper. "I wasn't…." he began, unable to finish.

"No one is saying you were," Sam replied evenly, knowing what the rest of the sentence was. "But he did bite you and there is the matter of the venom in your system.

"You were bitten and you're doing fine," Brennan snapped.

"Actually I feel like shit and as soon as I get you to Adam I'm going to crawl into bed. So please, stop fighting me and go and see him?" Sam begged, allowing, for the first time, his voice to betray just how bad he felt.

Brennan looked up at the stranger who was quickly becoming enduring. Out of everyone in Sanctuary, Brennan sensed that Sam was the only one who wasn't going to bullshit him. That Sam was going to tell him the truth and that was a precious thing to him at the moment.

"Fine, I'll go see Adam, but I don't need an escort," Brennan said, eyes daring Sam to push it.

Sam just nodded, "He's in the observation room."

Line

True to Sam's words, Adam was in the observation room. Upon seeing him there, Brennan almost turned around, but before he cold Adam had called his name and beckoned him inside.

"How you feeling Brennan?" Adam asked, pointing to a chair in the back of the room.

Brennan took it, and went numb when he realized that he could see fully into the med lab. Jesse was laying on one of the bio beds, the red lasers passing over him with monitors attacked to just about every part of him. Shalimar was there holding his hand, head resting next to his and Brennan knew that she would be the first to know if anything went wrong. Even the monitors wouldn't be able to tell as quickly as her.

"How bad is he?" Brennan asked as Adam rummaged through a cabinet.

The scientist froze for a second, sparing a glance into the med lab at Jesse. "He'll be fine, just needs some time to the venom out of his system."

"He was bitten more then once, right Adam?" Brennan asked as his mentor approached.

"Yes. I need to take a blood sample from you to see if you need another dose of anti-venom."

"Jesse's a molecular, doesn't that make the venom worse?" Brennan asked as Adam drew his blood.

"Yes, normally it does but Jesse had been exposed to this venom before," Adam assured as he took the blood sample to a computer for analysis.

"Was he…did…?"

"Jesse was assaulted, he wasn't raped," Adam said softly, looking up at Brennan.

"Assaulted…fine line isn't?" Brennan whispered as he approached the window.

Adam watched him, his critical eyes scanning the man in front of him, "Brennan, what happened?"

There it was, the dreaded question. 'What happened?' Like Brennan could say. Like Brennan wanted to say. But he knew this game, knew that Adam was only the first. Soon the others would join in, pressuring him to talk about it and to tell them. They would promise they could help, that they understand, and Brennan would give in. But in the end, it would all be lies.

"Not now Adam," Brennan said, a firmness in his voice he didn't think he had.

"Alright Brennan," Adam sighed, willing to give up for the night. "The venom is pretty much out of your system, I don't think you'll need another injection. Why don't you go and get some sleep?"

"Yeah," Brennan sighed roughly, to numb inside to appreciate the good news. He stood, watching the rise and fall of Jesse's chest, Adam's suggestion of getting some sleep ignored.

Adam wisely said nothing.


	19. Scum of the Earth

Scum of the Earth

A/N: Previously: Jesse and Brennan were captured by 'It' and nearly raped/killed but they were rescued by Emma and Shalimar. They have sense made it home 'safely,' though Jesse nearly died a few times, and we go from there. This chapter is mostly about Shalimar and how she's dealing with everything, so the stuff in italics are memories and the stuff that is not is current action. Make sense? I hope so.

line

Shalimar had left Jesse's side, driven by the need for release. The feral was edgy, angry, and highly destructive at the moment. She needed to move, to stalk, to hunt…to kill. Trouble was, there was nothing left to kill. But the need was still there, still driving her…. So she made her way to the dojo.

She programmed a simulation, using Jesse's trick of over ridding the security measures and building a VR world; one that echoed the real world. And as she started up the simulation, he mind replayed the night.

The abandon warehouse came to life on the dojo floor, bad lighting and everything. Shalimar carefully stalked her way around, each movement changing the landscape in front of her. Slowly her mind drifted away from the VR reality into the past that she so desperately needed, and perhaps wanted, to relive. He mind retraced it's steps back to the fear of realizing Jesse was gone; was in the hands of a monster. Back to the fear of not being fast enough, strong enough, tough enough, or even vicious enough. Back to that damn warehouse….

_The smell of Jesse and Brennan were everywhere, and so was __It__._

"_Where's Jesse?"_

"…_He went to look for you…"_

Shalimar saw something out of the corner of her eye, and spun to face it. But nothing was there.

_And that was when it had hit her, Jesse's scent had lead away from them. Away from Brennan, away from the building. Away from safety. It would be so like him, make sure that everyone was secure then jump head first into danger. He had moved in a drunken swagger, from shadow to shadow with that bastard behind him until the bastard had grabbed him and bitten him. But in his haste, he had left a trail for her to follow._

There was another movement to her left and she again spun to meat it, catching the fist that was aimed at her head. She flipped her attacker over her head and tossed him into the wall.

_She could smell the sent of lust so thick it choked her, and under that the faint smell of death. She could hear them before she saw them. The frantic breathing, the whimpering, and the sound of fabric being ripped…. _

Shalimar charged her attacker at full speed; not bothering to take precaution or to anticipate her attacker's movements. It was a very rare thing for Shalimar to go fully feral, a very rare thing indeed, but right now she didn't give a fuck about rarities. The attacker saw her coming and tried to dodge, but Shalimar was faster and she hit him head on. For the seconded time, he crumbled to the floor.

_The human part of her didn't want to see what was causing the sounds. It didn't want it to be real. And part of her animal half hesitated, wasn't it the law of nature that the weak fell to the predator? And wasn't death something you ran from? But the part of herself that was all her, screamed that her pack mate was in danger. That her brother needed her. And it was that part that won. She raced to them, faster and faster until they came into view._

Shalimar pounced on her attacker and began to beat him. All her anger, all her frustration and grief, every inch of her pain she inflected upon this fake creature before her. Beating him with her human hands, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

_Shalimar froze, just for a moment. The bastard was on top of him, on top of her brother… hurting him. He was touching him where no one had the right to and in away that no one should ever touch him. There was a moan and a whimper and that brought Shalimar's anger to boiling point. She went blind with rage, seeing nothing but white-hot anger as she charged and screamed, "Let him go!"_

_She saw It's surprise, It's look of fear as he spun around, but was unable to move in time. She smelt It's lust turn to terror, and the smell was something she would treasure for the rest of her life. And then she was on top of him, her nails digging into his flesh, her teeth biting into his neck. She wasn't human anymore, she wasn't even feral. She was something far more deadly. And It knew that. And It knew that she would make him pay._

"Shalimar stop it! Stop it! Stop it! SHALIMAR!!"

The voice broke through her memory, through the world that she had recreated and through her blinding angry, and it scared her. Franticly she jumped up and looked around, afraid of what she would see. She had lost control, she knew that now, but what had she done? What had happened? Had she hurt some one?

"Shalimar…." Emma cried, fear present in her voice. And Shalimar turned to face the red head who was huddled on the stairs of the dojo crying.

"Emma?" Shalimar said, and was surprised at how strange her voice sounded….. She moved closer to her friend, and was surprised to find Emma cowering away from her.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Shalimar asked, holding her position a few feet from the girl.

"You weren't you…" Emma said, looking at her fearfully. "I felt you slipping away and came looking… you had a simulation running…. You were ripping out its throat and you weren't human… I… I…." Emma froze as Shalimar closed the distance between them.

"Emma, look at me," Shalimar ordered, finally getting the red head to meet her eyes. "I'm a feral Emma, it happens sometimes. I lose control. And the truth is I have to. I'm not completely human, and sometimes I need remind myself of that. But Emma, I would never hurt you or anyone else that I care about. You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of losing you," Emma confessed.

"That won't happen," Shalimar assured her.

"But Shalimar, I felt you change… I felt you… you were angry and then you weren't human, you weren't even close… you were…."

"An animal? That's what I become Emma, when the scum of the earth hurts my pack. I become an animal."

line

After being reassured by Shalimar that she was still human and that she was going to be alright, Emma had convinced the feral to shower and change before returning to Jesse. That done, Emma had decided it was her turn to go and see how the molecular was doing. She wasn't really surprised to find Brennan there by his side when she arrived. Nor was he surprised when she entered.

"How is he?" she asked as she took a seat opposite Brennan.

The older man shrugged and, without taking his eyes off of Jesse's face said, "Adam says he'll make it. But there's no telling if he'll be all right."

"He will be," Emma declared, as if there was no other way for fate to play out. "Jesse's stronger then we all give him credit for. Way stronger. He survived Genomex. He survived the last time. And He will survive this time."

Brennan looked at her, a little hopefully, "You think so?"

"I know so," She said and gently touched Brennan's hand as it rested on Jesse's.

"I…I want to hate him Emma. I want to be angry with him, and to blame him, but I can't… I can't."

"I know. I know Brennan," Emma said softly, "And you're not wrong or evil for feeling that way. You haven't done anything or have felt anything that makes you a bad guy Brennan."

"But…he…" Brennan started but Emma silenced him.

"Jesse went off half cocked, with out a plan, with out all the facts, and as a result he endangered you and himself. That's the truth. But we all know and understand why he did it, and we all know for a fact that we would do the same thing in his shoes. He didn't do anything that one of us wouldn't have done," Emma said carefully, not wanting to upset Brennan.

"He saved me Emma…We were chained up in that room and that bastard was…. He was trying…. He had tied Jesse down and Jesse wasn't moving and I couldn't see him breathing… there were rats everywhere and they were climbing on Jesse and the whole place reeked to hell…I was awake for everything Emma…I saw everything and heard everything… he called us scum…scum of the earth," Brennan whispered.

"That's funny," Emma said, a satisfied smirk on her face, "you know why? Because that's what Shalimar called him right before she ripped his throat out."

"She ripped his throat out?" Brennan asked, a little surprise and awe in his voice.

"Among other things. Trust me, if he managed to live he won't be able to reproduce ever again," Shalimar said from behind them. The two turned her direction and were greeted by a soft smile as she made her way slowly over to Brennan. She gave him a soft hug and whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" Brennan asked, confused.

"For being there with him when I couldn't. For giving him a reason to fight. For trying to protect him. For everything Brennan, thank you. If that makes you scum of the earth, then you're the best kind there is."


	20. Screaming to Reality

Screaming to Reality

Reality was not being to kind to Jess, and it fought him every step of the way. He had no idea if it was a nightmare making him scream or the pain. All he did know was that screaming seemed a good thing, it meant something important but at the moment he couldn't grasp it. He was screaming for an unknown reason and there was an unknown set of restraints on him. Some where off in the distance he could hear voices and a hell of a lot of noise, but none of it made sense.

He thrashed and pulled at the restraints, knowing they wouldn't give. He arched his back and tried to inhale deeply, deep enough to phase, but that failed. There was no spike of pain in his head and nerves, and again, that meant something, but as before he didn't understand. All that he understood was that he was in pain and he was restrained and for a sickening second he thought he was back in that place with It…

"NO!! NO!! NO!!" he screamed, at least he though he screamed, over and over again, even after his voice went horse and he could feel his throat constrict. And only when he was forced to take a breath did he hear the reply.

"It's ok, you're ok. We've got you, you're safe. No one's going to hurt you here, you're home Jess. You're home."

And the voice was oh so comforting. It was oh so warm and caring. Oh so gentle and he knew that if he opened his eyes he would see an angel in front of him. That thought alone was enough to coax him to the edge. It shone through the fear of the what ifs; a steady line for him to follow towards the light. And slowly, oh so painfully slowly he opened his eyes just a fraction of a inch. But the sight before him did not disappoint, for it was indeed an angel.

This angel was nothing spiritual or fanatical, it was flesh and bone. Real as anything thing could be and the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Brennan stood over him, holding him in place and looking worriedly somewhere out of Jesse's line of vision. He hadn't notice that Jesse was awake just yet, but he had felt the blond relax a bit and he looked down to check and saw the flutter of lashes and the sliver of blue just peeking out. But it was enough to make him smile, a big honest and real smile that lit up his face and chased the shadows out of his eyes.

"Welcome back Jess…Don't worry, I got you. You're safe…I got you now…."


	21. The End is the Beginning…

The End is the Beginning….

Jesse was going to be fine. Given time he would make a full recovery. His sprain shoulder would heal fine, his concussion would have no permanent affect, and the venom would completely leave his system. His heart had a bit of an arrhythmia, but it eventually fixed itself and now showed no signs that it had ever stopped.

Ever since that early morning waking, when he came back to them screaming and fighting, they had known that he would be fine. A weight had been lifted from everyone the moment they say those blue eyes staring back at them. They began to breath again when Jesse had flashed his golden smile and asked, "I didn't worry you all, did I?"

They had laughed at that, Shalimar, Emma, Sam, Adam, and even Brennan. They had laughed hard and long until their laughter turned into tears and quite prayers of thanks. They had all watched him like a hawk for a week, until Adam finally declared him well enough to get out of bed, much to the relief of Jesse. Sam had been the one to take care of Jesse mostly, for as he simply pointed out, Brennan needed some time to recover, Emma need to play therapist, and Adam and Shalimar would need to watch the underground. It was true and nobody could argue.

But now, two weeks after that night, two weeks after he came back to them kicking and screaming, Jesse was fine. Sam had gone back to his life in the 'real world' now an honorary Mutant X member. Shalimar and Emma were doing the odd mission here and there. Brennan was beginning to rebuild his strength and deal with his emotions, something he could never have done with out Emma. And Jesse was fine.

But if Jesse was fine, why was Brennan so worried about him?

Ever since Sam left, Jesse had retreated. He barely spoke to anyone outside of the odd "No, I don't need anything." "Yes I've eaten." "I'm ok, thanks." He hid away in his room or in his mainframes and data charts and networks. He didn't look anyone in the eye, and though he smiled there was nothing real about it. He was hollowed, and it was clear that he wasn't sleeping. But he wouldn't give anyone a straight answer. He wouldn't even give them a fake answer. And this had gone on for nearly a week.

Today, Brennan decided, it was going to stop.

He walked nervously to Jesse's room. Adam had gone to pick up supplies, and Shalimar and Emma were taking care of some safe house. Restocking or something, it was important. What was, was that Jesse and he were alone, and would be for several answers.

Knocking lightly on his door, Brennan waited for a reply. "Who is it?" came a groggy and confused reply from Jess.

"It's Brennan. Cam we talk…please?" Brennan asked, trying to keep his voice toneless, but there was nothing he could do to hide the desperation he felt.

Maybe it was that pleading note that made Jesse open the door to allow some one entrance into his room for the first time in a long time. Or maybe it was the fact that it was Brennan and he couldn't bring himself to say no. It didn't matter. He opened the door and allowed Brennan to enter.

Jesse was dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. His hair was a mess and his eyelids hung heavy. Brennan had clearly waked him up, and he felt a stab of guilt in his chest knowing that the blond needed to sleep. But at the same time, there was no good putting this off.

"Have a seat," Jesse motioned to a desk chair in the corner of his room. He, himself, took a place on his bed and sat cross-legged. Brennan moved slowly towards the offered chair, trying to give himself enough time to gather his thoughts. There was so much he wanted to talk about, but he wasn't sure if Jesse was ready, so tack was very important at the moment. Unfortunately, he had never been good at tact.

"How you feeling Jess? How's your shoulder?"

"It's stiff," Jesse said, not looking at Brennan.

"Jess, I…" Brennan began, but he didn't know what to say after that and he grasped desperately at straws. But the straws blew away as soon as Jesse spoke.

"You have every right to hate me…It's my fault…" Jesse whispered, trying to get the words around the lump in his throat.

Brennan stared at the blond dumbfounded for a moment before saying, "Jesse I don't hate you…you didn't do anything."

"Yes I did. I put everyone in danger, I was reckless, and stupid, and I almost got you…."

"Who told you this?" Brennan demanded gently, "Jess, who said this to you?"

"No one. No one had to. I know it true," Jesse said, as the walls that he had tried to build started to chip.

Brennan moved to him and held him. At first Jesse tensed and was rigid in his arms. But as the warmth of Brennan's body penetrated Jesse's defenses, Jesse felt the ground beneath him fall out and he couldn't support the weight of everything anymore. He started to cry, quietly, and controlled, but still sobs.

Brennan just held him. He had learned early on, that when Jesse cried it was best to just let him. The younger man had grown up in a world where emotion and crying was not allowed. Stress and heartache were unacceptable. So when Jesse cried, it was not easily, and it was not over petty things. When he cried it meant that his world was coming down around him and he didn't know what to do. So it was a good thing that Brennan was there, because Brennan did know what to do, and he held him until he regained control.

"Sorry," Jesse said softly, when he had managed to stop crying. He was now almost lounging in Brennan's arms.

"Stop saying that," Brennan said softly, one of his hands stroking Jesse's hair.

"But Brennan…" Jesse began.

"Jess, what did you do that Shal, Em, Adam, or I wouldn't have done?" Brennan asked before Jesse could finish.

"Put everyone in danger, allowed you to get hurt, allowed myself to be raped again…."

Brennan turned Jesse in his arms, forcing the younger man to look him in his eyes and said fiercely, "Don't say that. Don't ever say that. Don't even think it."

"It's true," Jesse claimed.

"No. It's not. You didn't _allow_ any of it to happen. You didn't _allow_ him to do anything to you, or me, or anyone. You're not responsible for any of this."

Jesse pulled himself out of Brennan's arms and got to his knees. There was anger in his face. "I was the one who was so bound and determined to find this guy. I was the one who refused to wait or to listen to anyone. I came up with the damn plan that got you and I captured. Don't think I don't know what he did. Don't think I don't know what happened while I was suppose to be unconscious. I had to lie still while he took off my clothes because if I didn't he would have bitten me and I wouldn't have been able to do anything! I had to let him touch me and I knew that he was doing the same to you and It's my…."

Jesse was dissolving to tears again, and this time Brennan wasn't going to let him just cry. He rose swiftly and cupped Jesse's face, gently forcing the younger man's lips to his and he kissed him fiercely. At first Jesse was surprised and tried to pull away, but Brennan held on to him ever so lightly, and soon Jesse melted into him. He allowed Brennan to lay him flat on his bed and straddle him. He allowed him pin his hands down and deepen the kiss. And when he allowed him to pull away, he gave a soft moan of disappointment.

"If what you say is true Jesse, and I do believe you, then you saved us both. You saved me. What you did was more then enough to make up for any perceived stupidity. Now how can I make you believe that?"

"I don't know if I can…I don't…" Jesse didn't get to finish that sentence as Brennan planted another kiss, this time softer then the first, on his lips. This one didn't last as long as the other, but it was still as passionate.

"I'm going to try Jesse. God help me, I'm going to try, even if I have to kiss every inch of you that you let me…."

"The others…" Jesse said, but his voice was light and feathery, his eyes fluttering.

"Are gone for the day," Brennan finished for him. And Jesse laughed, a small and little laugh, but a real one.

He really was going to be fine.

END.


End file.
